Edinburgh Report 08
Edinburgh has been Ratified
1. Race Director's Report
2. Results
3. SleepMonsters Report and Photos
4. Thank You's
5. Series Prize
6. The next Rat Race action – Belfast7. Something a bit closer to home?
1. Race Director's Report
It was with enormous pride that I stood on the stage in Princes Street Gardens last Saturday night and shouted "Go!" with all my gusto! For 4 years running I'd been down there on the start line racing with some good results and a lot of memories of classic Mean Streets Activities. For the first time I was on the other side of things but the anticipation of what lay ahead was every bit as strong! I knew you were in for a good combination of activity checkpoints and interesting out of the way locations for the unmanned checkpoints, and was just hoping that no one run into a lamp-post!
The run up to the event was an action packed week of changes with last minute venues and activities dropping out or coming on 
board all the time. Thankfully those that we ran with all worked and special highlights for me were seeing all the eyebrowless racers and the stories of cross dressing down in Newhaven. It may be some time before I'm forgiven by the (male) marshal in the little black dress and by the eyebrowless racers, I hope a return to work on Monday didn't bring complaints about your appearance from the boss!
Saturday night's over winners were Aberdeen Asset Management who covered a distance of 27km in 2h45mins, which is a good dose of road running considering the activities that had to be completed on the way. The Mean Streets category winners were Edinburgh AC who used local knowledge to speed around and gain 366 points which would have placed them 8th in the overall category. Maybe next year they'll try the Adventure Class?
Sunday was a beautiful morning and as promised the rain stayed off all day – remember it never rains on Edinburgh Rat Races!
The start at the castle is always special and particular thanks have to be made to the company who were taking apart the stage from Saturday night's Proclaimers concert, who went back to bed for an hour to let us use the Esplanade. From all reports the start quiz worked well to break up the run around town and it was interesting to see some unexpected team's arriving back at the Gardens well in advance of the elite teams! Perhaps local knowledge helped, but who really would have known the 60th word in the paragraph on Princes Street outside the Council Chambers? ('Races' by the way but we accepted a few answers as hyphenated words troubled some people's counting!)
Once on the bikes teams soon hit the first abseil and though this had been used last year, many teams would still be trying it 
for the first time and it's such a great location we couldn't ride on by. Hats off to the rope technicians who dispatched you down the ropes quicker than a rat up (or down!?) a drainpipe; the marshals tell me it was a sight to behold. Well done too to the marshals who had to stand in the river to tail the ropes for you all. Welly boots were on their mandatory kit list for this one!
Drumbrae and urban mountain bike orienteering may become synonymous. This place is a maze of dead ends, roundabouts, pathways and underpasses. The locals will never have seen the like before or perhaps again!
The Forth Bridge was our destination this year and the route was built around getting out here and back.We had bigger plans for this area and perhaps one day they'll come off but we thought the kayaking under the Forth Bridge was a bit special anyway and the mud just added to the challenge!
Humbie Quarry and Winchburgh Shale Bing provided a bit of light entertainment hopefully, certainly for me as I watched one team misread their map and a host of others followed them, clambering up and down the sides of the bing unnecesarily!
The Edinburgh International Climbing Arena at Ratho is the world's largest indoor climbing arena and we were lucky to have 
their support from the beginning. We merely scratched the surface of the facilities on offer here and I would urge you to go back and explore a bit more. There are some great facilities for families and its worth checking out their website here.
Corn Market Village came on board on Friday night before the race, as another venue dropped out, so we have to thank them for their help and letting us have 500 people tramp through their pool hall!
The Indesit Moon Washing Machine in the event village spun a few heads at first glance, but it worked well as a way of showing off your skills to family, friends and the public gathered in the event village. For those 'fortunate' enough to make it through before the cutoff time then a trip up onto Arthur's Seat was surely a grand way to finish off, with the view all the way back to the Forth Bridges and everywhere you'd been that day. It was a shame so few people rode the steps on the way to the finish - next year we'll need a bigger carrot or stick to get you riding them!
It was great to meet so many of you on the finish line and see how much you'd enjoyed your day. As promised it was longer 
but faster than last year and those that completed the whole course mopped up 93km by bike, foot and boat. Prologue and overall winners Aberdeen Asset Management mopped up 27km of running on Saturday night in 2h 45 mins. You can view their Saturday route here.
John Laughlin
Edinburgh Race Director/Planner
2. Results
Full results are available on the Rat Race Website here
ADVENTURE CLASS
Mixed category
1st place – Aberdeen Asset Management - 8:45:51
2nd place - SleepMonsters/Inov-8 - 9:04:08
3rd place - Clive James meets Ali-J & Monsieur Mangetout 9:11:54
Male category
1st place - Team Barry 10:35:26
Female category
1st place – Bad Belles 11:49:11
MEAN STREETS
Mixed category
1st place – Ratter's Delight 03:41:17
Male category
1st place – Edinburgh AC 03:01:56
Female category
1st place – The Wags 03:32:54
3. Sleepmonsters Reports and Photos
There were several photographers at the event this weekend, and as usual it is SleepMonsters.com that provides you with all the best adventure racereporting and widest selection of photos from the course. Go here for the event reports by Rob Howard and photo galleries and here to go direct to SleepMonsters PhotoSales with hundreds of photos from around the course.
There are reports for the Mean Streets Prologue and the Main Race Day, along with photo galleries for both days, and in the PhotoSales section thousands of photos organised by activity. Browse through and you should see yourself in action with the option to download images for a longer lasting momento.
4. Thank Yous
Two massive thank yous have to be made to Edinburgh City Council and Edinburgh Leisure for all their help, support and guidance with venues and the many permissions we need to run the Rat Race. I'm sure you'll join with me in thanking all the marshals and behind the scenes crew who made everything work over the weekend. To all our other venue and activity providers a big dose of gratitude from me and hats off to the sponsors who provide such generous prizes, for you the racers. Yes finally a massive thanks to you guys for signing up, getting on the start line and taking on the course with gusto and entering into the spirit of the event, I look forward to seeing you on the Edinburgh start line again in 2009 or sooner at one of the Rat Races still to come this year.
5. Points Series and Prize
The time has come to announce what many have already deduced - the Series Prize is a flight and entry for a mixed team to compete in the Melbourne Rat Race for November 22/23 2008. This race is already in planning production and Melbourne is like all good UK Rat Race cities, except it's a city on steroids! - quite possibly the sportiest city in the world. As such this Series winning team represents the best Rat Race team in the UK and they will go head-to-head with the Antipodean Elite, who of course, are on their first ever Rat Race, but on home ground. Now that WILL be interesting!
Full details of the Melbourne Rat Race will come by special release very shortly.
After 4 Rat Races, and despite three wins by Aberdeen Asset Management, and one by Team SleepMonsters/Inov8, the prize is not yet in the bag. With 2 counting Rat Races to go, Team SleepMonsters/Inov-8 will not be relaxing their assault on AAM's intentions. Bring it on in Newcastle, the next British Rat Race. There are of course several other teams showing positions in the Points Series, and they are becoming clear masters of the Rat Race format and champions of the Rat Racing family.
The Current Top Ten Standings of the Points Series
36 Points. Aberdeen Asset Management
32 Points. SleepMonsters/Inov8
16 Points. CamRacers
8 Points. Team Teacake
8 Points. Kiboko
8 Points. Mangetout
7 Points. Extreme Dining
7 Points. Plugga
7 Points. Total Meadowbankers
7 Points. Wildcats
6. The next Rat Race action – Belfast
So the fun in Edinburgh is over for another year but the Rat Race series continues and with a brand new event up next. On Saturday 9th August the Rat Race will descend on the Emerald Isle for the first time, when the 9 to 5 event hits the streets of Belfast. Judging by the number of Northern Irelanders at the Edinburgh Rat Race, there's a thirst for adventure over there and we look forward to showing off some of the very best bits of the Northern Ireland capital. It's become one of the fastest developing tourist destinations in Europe and for good reason, there's plenty to see and do and Rat Race will be taking you on a tour that no other guide can offer! Entries are still open at www.ratraceadventure.com
7. Something closer to home?
Loved the Edinburgh Rat Race and can't wait till next year? Well don't! Race Director John Laughlin is organising a Wan Dae Adventure Race in the Pentland Hills on the 20th September. A mere stone's throw from Auld Reekie, the Wan Daes feature a 5 or 8 hour format of all the usual AR disciplines, with a small sprinkling of random activities thrown in for good measure. You could call it the hybrid off spring of the Saturday Mean Streets and Sunday Rat Races, with its score format, fun activities, simple navigation, and teamwork. Oh except you can enter as a soloist if you wish! For more details visit www.scottishadventureracing.com
Rat Race HQ
