Thousands of soaking wet people stood gathered at the foot of Arthur’s seat, me amongst them, the iconic Scottish fog encasing us all. The atmosphere was entire. That perfect balance of tension and eagerness. It was hard not to feel small in the huge crowd, in the open space of Holyrood gardens where the Bupa Great North run kicked off at 09.30am on Sunday 2 October. But you did not feel small, because these people, the active campaign type are quite similar. They are all essentially approachable and warm and even though I was there alone, I never once felt it.

The day fell as follows, 09:30am the Bupa Great Edinburgh Run 5k start time, then the Elite Women start the 10k slog, followed by the elite male. Then the mass, which I was in, and finally the Mini Great Edinburgh Run and  the Junior Great Edinburgh Run

An entrance fee of £26.55  is a bit steep but as it’s in aid of a charity of your choice , you are willing to let it slide. The opportunity to run Edinburgh city, traffic free is worth the money all by itself. The organisation was flawless and between the turnout of supporters and the complimentary Bupa pack at the end has me convinced me that I will be loping around the same route in the torrential rain this time next year.