Scurry to the Sea is a 12 mile-ish race from Edinburgh Ski centre to Musselburgh via the top of Swanston Hill in the Pentlands. You start by climbing up a narrow track for a mile and half and then run (mostly) downhill to the sea.

After taking part in Run the Blades last week, this would be a second near enough half marathon in one week, which I thought would be tough on my legs until Iain TwinBikeRun said:

“You’ll be okay, you use a different part of your legs when you run down hill.”

And he was right. Unfortunately, that different part of my leg was the part that’s not trained for running downhills as I always run on flat roads. I felt knackered after five miles and my legs were very heavy and tired, despite running downhill.

The race was sold out, with around 300 people starting. This makes it congested at the start as the climb to Swanston is on a narrow path. However, as the climb is steep and few are running, it doesn’t slow you down. You end up walking a large part of the climb anyway.

Once you get to the top it’s a fun and steep descent back into the city before you end up orienteering around various Edinburgh suburbs. If it wasn’t for Iain TwinBikeRun, a former native of Edinburgh, I’m not sure I would have found Musselburgh. I’d have got to the sea and someone would have said “Congratulations, you’ve reached Troon!”

There are water stops every four miles but, strangely, no water at the finish line, although there was a good banana and flapjack. Perhaps I missed the water as it would seem a big oversight not to have any (other than the sea).

Scurry to the Sea is a fun event, which offer a different challenge to most half marathons by taking you from summit to sea. I’d definitely recommend it, along with a map and compass.