It’s not often that you end up with a brewery all to yourselves to watch a Scotland rugby match, but that’s how the Taproom Special finished this time round. Not sure why Campervan was so quiet but it did mean that a group of slightly soggy runners didn’t offend anyone else and we had the best seats in the house. Rewind 7 hours and 14 of us met at Cross Borders Brewery to ensure we were fully hydrated for a long run visiting a total of 7 brewery taprooms. From the photos at each of the taprooms you’ll see that 4 of us made the full distance, with a few cameo appearances and many opting to run various sections of the route, plus Mark taking his bike over Caerketton. Thankfully the rain never got too heavy, although it may have contributed to quite a few staying to enjoy the comforts of Summerhall rather than continuing. One runner is alleged to have left Stewart’s with all the beer they could carry and gone bikini shopping, before returning to the group in Leith. Was great to finally get to Newbarns as their taproom opening was part of the inspiration for doing the Taproom Special again. Will have to spend longer next time I’m up! Bellfield was also a pleasant surprise as I didn’t know what to expect from a brewery tap tucked away in a housing estate. Thanks to Oz for getting the flight of Oktoberfest beer at Moonwake to share with everyone, and to Elly and Fiona for doing battle with the pizza ordering app to at least get us half a pizza each before it stopped taking orders! A great day out catching up with everyone, and hopefully it won’t be another 5 years between now and the next time we run this route. Approx. 32km with 650m up.
Jeff Roberts