The Scotland Event – Edinburgh 17th October 2010

2010 will again see the MH Survival Series travel to 3 UK cities. National pride is at stake as we invite Survivors from Scotland, England and Wales to front up to the challenge. The inaugural Scottish Survival event took place last year and was a sell-out success. We’ve increased the entry limit for 2010 and are set return to Auld Reekie on 17th October this year for a volcanic finale to the 2010 Survival season.


About the City

Auld Reekie. Capital of Scotland. Built on a volcano. Birthplace of the Telephone, the TV, Golf and Dolly the Sheep. More medieval skyscrapers than a city-break with Snow White. American tourists on every street corner. Home to the largest cultural Festival on the planet. Sensationally beautiful. Hilariously hilly. Although maybe not for you.


Event Location

Last year’s inaugural Edinburgh event started with a mass charge down the Royal Mile, complete with a few hay bales slung in your way outside the City Chambers. This was to set the scene for a tremendous first outing for our Scottish Survival. Think of everything that makes Edinburgh famous: Holyrood Park, the cobbled Wynds of the Old Town, Princes Street Gardens, the Royal Mile. This course takes you ALL OVER it. The route is phenomenal and with special permissions from the City Council and other land owners, you will be embarking on a sight-seeing tour of the very centre of Edinburgh, Survival-style. We have an outstanding course lined up for you again in 2010; not least so because Survival organisers The Rat Race, staged their first ever Rat Race Urban Adventure event here back in 2004. Therefore we know this amazing city like the back of our hand. Edinburgh is positively built for adventure and the Rat Race crew will be weaving you in and out of this ancient place, bringing you face to face with some old Survival favourites including the Wall of Fame, the Army assault course and the hay bale scramble and presenting you with some very unique Edinburgh flavours as well.

Edinburgh Course

From a base centrally located in Princes Street Gardens, we will be taking you up, down and all over Edinburgh. This is the hilly one and you should expect some healthy gradient in this event. Practise your ups and your downs and make sure you are ready to keep going even when your legs are telling you to stop. From the drama of the volcanic skyline and the stunning city centre parks, to the old and eery cityscape of the Medieval Old Town, this is an adventure at the very core of Auld Reekie and a route that will catapult you along a roller coaster of 1000 years of proud Scottish history.

From our event base in Princes Street Gardens, your first challenge will involve a dramatic mass start down the Royal Mile, hitting an obstacle in the pedestrian area of this world-famous street, before dropping down through alleyways to Market Street and the depths of the old ‘Nor Loch, where witches were once drowned. It’s now Edinburgh Waverley train station of course so after you pass under the tracks you will be ascending steeply up Jacob’s Ladder to reach the top of Calton Hill and the National Monument. Completion of a dramatic obstacle zone will earn you the majestic views afforded from this spot, so breathe them in and then enjoy the descent while you can. You are never far from a hill in Edinburgh and you’ll be going uphill again soon! From here, it’s back cross the Royal Mile again in the Holyrood area and through offices and housing estates to reach the fringes of beautiful Holyrood Park. You’ll get up close to Arthur’s Seat but don’t worry – you’re not going up that one. Then it’s back into the Old Town via the University precinct and you will descend into the Cowgate, the famous thoroughfare of nocturnal Edinburgh, where the Underground streets and caves of the medieval Old Town are all around you and where many a stag night has dared to tread in its famous pubs and bars. You’ll be going up and down again here, using some of the Wynds that link the Cowgate and the Royal Mile and occasionally popping out to the flashes of Tourists’ cameras as you pop out of these narrow alleyways here and there. It’s time then to run through the stunning Grassmarket, where you can almost touch Edinburgh Castle above you, before meandering your way into Princes Street Gardens and hoovering up the last kilometre of Survival in a sickening weave up and down the steep grassy banks of the Gardens that rise fearsomely towards the Castle Esplanade. The finish line is now tantalizingly close and all you have standing between you and that line is the MH Wall of Fame. Haul yourself over it and feel the pain subside as you enjoy the ambience of our event village entertainments in Princes Street Gardens.

NB: This route is provisional and some elements may be subject to change. The accompanying route map gives an overview of the route based on our 2009 course.


Getting There

Road
Edinburgh is served from the South by the A1 main London – Edinburgh road and from Glasgow and the central belt of the Scotland by the M8. From the north, the M9 converges on the city from Stirling and Perth and the A90 gets you there from the Scottish East coast, Dundee and Aberdeen.

Rail
Direct connections from London King’s Cross and the East Coat main line have you in Edinburgh within 4.5 hours from London and Edinburgh is served quickly and easily from Newcastle, York, Birmingham, Manchester and the South West via direct trains from Bristol, Bournemouth and beyond. With Sleeper services also available overnight from London Euston, you can even board your train at midnight the night before Survival and arrive in Edinburgh Waverley station fresh for breakfast and a quick walk to the event village in plenty of time for Registration on the day of the event!

Air
Edinburgh has an international airport which receives frequent inbound international and domestic flights. Connections to the city centre are made via a frequent airport shuttle bus (every 15 mins).

Accommodation

There is plenty to choose from in Edinburgh. From super stylish options in the Georgian New Town, to rough and ready uber-atmospheric Old Town hostels, there is a good deal of choice. Try www.visitscotland.com for a full run-down of options, plus superb info on what's on around town and further afield in Scotland.

We'll see you there in Edinburgh SOTF 2010!