Scotland has been on my radar for quite some time so when I saw that the Edinburgh Marathon was going to take place on the weekend of my birthday I needed no further excuses to start planning a trip across the pond. Running on my birthday in the city where I was born, was pretty much a no brainer! With my wandering soul now in overdrive, I began researching my birthplace. I really didn’t know much about Scotland besides the fact that it’s where the elusive “Loch Ness Monster” has been encountered by those stumbling home from the local pub. My husband is somewhat of a scotch connoisseur so I knew in order for him to agree to get on a 7 hour flight across the Atlantic, the trip would have to include some distilleries. One place in particular began to stick out, ISLAY (eye-la). Islay lies on the western coast of Scotland and is the most southerly island of the Inner Hebrides. If you like scotch whiskey, this is the place to go. My editor/husband just informed me that if it’s scotch it’s spelled whisky without the “e”. The island has nine distilleries. That’s right, nine! The population of this little gem of a place is a little more than 3,000, with a third of those living in the main city of Bowmore. I decided Islay would be the perfect spot to begin our time in Scotland before heading to the more populated city of Edinburgh for the race.

ISLAY

A short thirty minute flight will take you from Glasgow to the small strip of a runway/beach on Islay. I started to worry when we boarded the plane and the pilot started moving passengers around based on their relative size. When it came time for the landing, I stopped looking out the porthole of the plane when it appeared like we were going to crash into the ocean. You can also get there by ferry but if you are under any sort of time constraint I highly recommend booking the flight. Landing on the island is like stepping back in time. We were met by the local police (I’m still not sure if he was there to give his stamp of approval to those arriving or if the airport just happens to have the best coffee and donuts on the island). He was kind enough to inform us that most of the roads contain just one lane of traffic for both directions. This meant we had to pull off the road if another car was approaching from the opposite direction. He also told us the sheep on the island always have the right away. Really? Sheep right of way doesn’t roll off the tongue quite like pedestrian right of way. Sure enough, as soon as we turned onto the one lane road out of the airport we were greeted by sheep. Lots of sheep. I think they were as skeptical of us as the local police.

the locals on Islay

For our first night on the island we stayed at the Port Charlotte Hotel.

Port Charlotte

The hotel had amazing sea views and we were able to walk right down to the small beach. My husband, who had twisted his ankle the day before while running through the streets of Glasgow, definitely appreciated the healing qualities of the frigid Scottish waters. An added bonus was the live music that wafted up through the wide plank floors of the hotel from the pub below. This musical bonus was a appreciated by our jet lagged bodies and minds. The remainder of our stay was spent in Bowmore at the Bowmore cottages, conveniently located above the distillery.  The town is centrally located and provided a great home base for exploring the island. You would think running on the island would be ideal given the limited population, however, it proved to be somewhat of a challenge with the one lane for two way traffic and the sheep thing. I can say with confidence that the residents of Islay are not accustomed to encountering strange people running on their one lane roads. There were more than a few near misses. I was surprised to learn that there was a marathon once run here, and someone even wrote a book about it.

Some observations about the island:

• if you are staying more than a few days you will more than likely get to know most people on the island by name
• do not try sunbathing on the beaches, they are covered with worms, even after inquiring we never discovered why
• an umbrella is a very useful accessory to carry at all times

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh Castle

After a week of talking to sheep I was ready to explore the city of Edinburgh. I think my husband, on the other hand, would have been more than happy to relocate to Islay indefinitely. We decided to stay at the Fraser Suites which were conveniently located on  The Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the Old Town. The thoroughfare runs downhill between Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Palace and provides a myriad of shops and restaurants in between the two. I’m pretty sure we paid a visit to every single shop in search of the perfect sweater (which I would later realized was really in Ireland) on our way to Holyrood Park  to pick up my race bib. I’m always hopefull that my bib number will hold some sort of significance, my birthday or anniversary. I’m not sure why because I don’t think it would help me win the race. More often than not, however, it’s just a random series of numbers.

Random Bib Number

I do save my bibs though. Each race holds a special signifigance even if the numbers may not. One day I plan on doing something wonderfully creative with them just like all those people on Pinterest do. Just don’t hold me to it. The starting line for for the race was a short walk from the hotel on Regent Road. My husband planned on returning to the hotel for a bit before meeting me at the finish line (which was 11 miles away in a neighboring village along the coast). I think I was a bit more concerned about him finding the finish line than I was about running the actual race. He later told me me he missed the train to the finish line, hopped a cab with some locals, got as close as he could and made a mad dash to beat me to it. If you are looking for a flat course, this is it. Even flatter than New Jersey! I also think it was a birthday miracle that the rain held off during the race. In fact, it was downright hot! Another miracle, my husband found the finish line!

The rest of our stay in Edinburgh was spent being tourists. Unapologetically. We climbed to the top of Arthur’s Seat, narrowly escaping death when my husband attempted taking a “short cut” on the descent. We visited the highlands and Loch Ness and yes, I did think I would actually spot the elusive monster.

Happy Birthday!

My favorite moment in Edinburgh, however, was when we stumbled on the spot where the the creative genius J.K. Rowling created my all time favorite literary series, Harry Potter. (That’s me in front of the “Elephant House”) It just doesn’t get any better than that!

“It feels good to be lost in the right direction.”