Now I understand why Edinburgh has produced such great runners. The city center is remarkably compact and remarkably hilly, and my 15k, seventy minute run incorporated several ideal running areas and wonderful scenery. (MAP)
I was told that Scottish triathletes thrive by consuming lots of haggis, the local delicacy. Determined to emulate their stamina and keep my protein intake up, I had a hearty meal of haggis and mashed potatoes upon my arrival in Edinburgh and found it quite tasty with a smoky spicy flavor and nutty texture. I later learned was made from sheep`s guts (intestines, liver, hearts, lungs..) sauteed in the sheep`s stomach and then mixed with onions, oatmeal, herbs and spices.
Sufficiently fueled by my fine meal, I headed out yesterday morning at 630am from my hotel, The Scotsman, a building much like Harry Potter`s school Hogswarts. I ran down the Royal Mile, a medieval street scape which took me to Holyrood Park an extinct volcano that looms over the east side of the old city center. I followed a dirt ridge trail up around the mountain which provided a panoramic view back at the spires and castle towers of Edinburgh.
Coming down out of Holyrood it was only a few blocks to The Meadows, an expansive lawn crisscrossed by tree-lined paths. Apparently this is the running epicenter of Edinburgh, I spotted a half-dozen other runners around the perimeter. After a few kilometers around The Meadows I climbed a bike path through the University of Edinburgh campus to the Castle.
then looped back through town to the hotel.
The hotel manager told me that the Edinburgh marathon is coming up in May and Edinburgh is such a wonderful town that I am tempted to stay for it.
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