7pm came and went and as Gordon wasn’t there we all stood around looking confused. Fiona tried to round us all up and she, Ryan and I quickly devised a route. Or at least decided we would start by heading up Blackford Hill and not take any shortcuts. We almost turned into a dead end on the way out of KB but managed to make it (along the road) to Blackford Hill. Then we dropped down into the Braids where we unfortunately lost one due to injury and two due to headtorch issues. We made it across to the top of Braid Hill easily and then discussed what to do next.
No one was sure so Ryan took control and led us down to the Stable Bar at Mortonhall. Unfortunately no one knew where to go from here so we backtracked slightly and headed back up the path towards Braid Road. We missed the turnoff back towards the Braids and emerged on the roads in Buckstone. Another runner came past so we followed him and hoped he wasn’t heading to his house. Fiona tried to take a shortcut through someone’s garden but eventually we found our way back to the Braids, crossed over the road and dropped down to the Lodge Coffee House, then back up the steps to Blackford golf course via another couple of wrong turns. Lee and Lucas led us back over the golf course to KB, only ten minutes late, after 8 and a bit miles.
There was also a really big moon.
Kudos to Ryan, Fiona and everyone else who helped lead the run and everyone for their patience and good humour about all the dead ends and wrong turns!
Rachel
The 7.30 group (also without Gordon!):
An email at work warned me that there would be a Gordonless 7pm run. Irene had offered me a lift in for 7:30, so I was going to share transport and help save the planet. I am usually there to check everyone was happy, so I was picturing a group of headless 7pm-ers in a bit of a tiz. How right I was.
But by 7:30, 15 of us had gathered and I decided to run in the trees to stay out of the cold. Wrapped up like Nanook of the North I ventured out and led the way to Easter Craiglockhart. The North Hermitage path was muddy and slippy but fairly warm as I took off one of my layers. As we reached Comiston Road we were missing three – it turned out that Lindsay had got a fly in the eye which Irene had to extricate. So not only was it a Blue Moon run, it was a Bluebottle Run.
Jumping the wall onto the “secret path” we ran past the first snowdrops of the year. It took about 5 minutes for all of us to get through the metal bar gate squeeze and then we headed up to Craiglockhart summit. The Super Blood Red Blue Moon was showing itself through the clouds as we stopped for a photo.
The return route took us along the Hermitage main path, turning left too soon into Blackford Quarry left me leading the group over the ridge and down a rather slippy, wet, Broken Glass covered, rocky slope to rejoin the planned route. Up through the reclaimed quarry and across Craigmillar Park and back to KB.
5.6 miles in 1 hour 25 (1 hour 8 minutes if you take off photo stops and fly extraction time).
Good Fun as ever
Willie