thinkThin

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Originally uploaded by martinlittle

Amazingly, my online ballot application made it through the filter to get into the line-up. Now to decide whether I can face it or not…

In case you wonder what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks(!), there’s been a lot of outdoor activity.  A few weekends ago (just think back to the last REALLY wet weekend) was the ACE Race (report here) down in the Borders.  That was a lot of fun, although hard going, especially with the weather.

Last weekend was the Edinburgh Rat Race, my third time doing it.  I raced with Julien and Gunilla, whom I’d met at the ACE Race, and we made a good team.  After finishing 72nd after the Saturday night prologue, we had a very steady day on Sunday finishing 35th (out of 130 teams), and one of only 50 to clear the course.  Our overall position of 41st/130 was well earned after 10 elapsed hours of racing.  There’s a full report of that race, including a nice picture of the steel ladder I climbed to the roof of the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, over here.

The steel ladder was tough going, and about 20 rungs from the top I had run out of energy, but there was a reserve somewhere.  As well as that, my highlights were kayaking in the Forth, especially the return leg with waves crashing over the bow … and then the knee-deep mud at the slipway, jumping into the murky water of the quary and rocking around the orienteeting sections much more easily than ever before.

Next up: the Wan Dae Pentlands race and then the ACE Race in the Lakes.

This Saturday morning is the Edinburgh Raft Race (not to be confused with the Edinburgh Rat Race, as I did).  It looks like a lot of fun, although I wish I’d seen it a few weeks ago and could have put together an entry…  There’s some pictures here to get you in the mood.

Enjoy your weekend!

Thanks to Jim, I’m now racing a virtual Raccoon-shaped orange balloon around the Internet.  The balloon name is RocketRaccoon, so push him on if you see him.

I’m heading along to the Scottish Beer Festival at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh on Friday night.  Give me a shout on Twitter/email/IM/phone if you fancy a tasty jar.