Edinburgh University KB 5 7/03/09
Saturday morning saw a dull and windy Edinburgh greet a decent turn-out for Edinburgh Uni's KB 5 mile race. In truth, if the wind had dropped a little it would have been ideal racing conditions, but it stuck around so things weren't too easy! Despite no discernible start/finish line or race clock, the mood of the runners at the start was buoyant, and everyone seemed happy to tackle the hills of the south of the city.
The course had been described to me pre-race as "just like Lasswade, but squeezed into five miles''; which seemed to be inspiration for three Portobello Runners (myself, Peter and Derek) - we raised a smile and looked to get stuck into it.The KB is essentially a five mile loop, beginning and ending at King's Buildings car park. The first part of the race takes in the outskirts of the Grange, and below the face of Blackford Hill. Thereafter the slopes begin, and for a couple of miles we ran into the wind as we gained height and passed the likes of the Braid Hills Hotel, and further on the Braid Hills Golf Course.
Essentially the race is one of two halves - uphill slog, and then downhill fun. After reading an inspired book on fell-running recently ('Feet In The Clouds', R.Askwith) I attempted to take the fell-running approach and 'disengage brain' for the downhills - I'm happy to report it seemed to work fairly well! I hadn't really studied the map too well before racing, so was extremely pleased to see the King's Buildings suddenly appear on my left around the 33min mark. My aim for today was to gauge my progress after training with the club in the past month, and hopefully hold sub-seven minute miles. Clocking in at 34.18, I was quite pleased with myself, and happy to see Derek who came in around 33min, and Peter at 29min. A small thank-you to whoever called out "C'mon Porty" as I rounded the last corner - great to hear for the first time.
The KB is a low-key event, well-supported and very well-marshalled; if the wind drops, or not, I'll definitely be back next year, and would thoroughly recommend the course to anyone looking to add a short to their race-roster.
Report Phil Owens.
Photos Mrs. Owens
Results here
