Seven Hills of Edinburgh
I ran up to the top of all seven of Edinburgh's hills, and I feel shattered for it.
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| Not a medal, but a coaster this race. |
Why Seven Hills of Edinburgh
I planned on signing up to the Edinburgh Half Marathon this year because my partner, John, wanted to run it. He signed up, but when I went to do so 36 hours after he did, it was already sold out.
I still wanted to do a big run this year, but I didn't want to travel far. That's when I remembered the existence of the Seven Hills of Edinburgh, a race I've often thought about doing, but every time I've looked into it, it's sold out.
The race is as it sounds. You run to the highest point of each of Edinburgh's seven hills. There's no set route. Just reach the peak and run the hills in a set order.
This year, I set myself a calendar reminder for when entries went on sale. Good thing I did, because it's a race that does pretty much sell out in minutes. John was also kind enough to agree to run it with me, just three weeks after his half marathon.
The journey
We took the bus into the center of town to get to the start at Calton Hill. The bus was surprisingly packed for early on a Sunday. So much so we got off a stop early, rather than risk being stuck on it any longer and getting to the start even later.
The race
I call this section 'the race' in each blog post, but technically I was running 'the challenge'. Seven Hills has 'the race' for super competitive people who can run a half marathon in under 1 hour and 45 minutes. Everyone else can enter 'the challenge', which has a start time a half hour earlier.
The start
While waiting for the race to start, we had nice moment taking in the panoramic view of Edinburgh from Calton Hill, reflecting on how lucky we are to live somewhere so beautiful.
It was also the start of us taking a lot of couple selfies during this event. Enjoy.
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| The majestic National Monument of Scotland behind us. |
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| Taking in the beautiful views of the city. |
The toilet queue wasn't too bad at this race, but it did take me forever to find the toilets as they were set lower down the hill than the registration area.
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| The most scenic walk to race toilets. |
There was no nice and neat start line marked with an arch. Instead, all the runners huddled together on the grass in one area, and off we went at go time.
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| Runners ready to start. |
Castle Hill
Castle Hill was the one hill I forgot to take a picture at, but it also was the busiest. It was also the one hill I fully ran up this race, and to be fair, it's the easiest one to do so.
At each hill, you hole punched your running bib to prove you made it to the top.
Corstorphine Hill
From the Castle, it was around 4 miles until we reached hill two at Corstorphine. I was glad this was early in the race with runners close enough together to follow their lead as I don't frequent this part of town and didn't know where I was going.
I was successfully running all the way up to getting to the fully uphill path runners went through at Murrayfield Golf Club. I couldn't believe how much of an incline it was, and we weren't even at the hill we had to run!
Corstorphine Hill was also the first refreshment station on the run, and I was very happy to get a jelly baby and sugary juice to fuel me at this point. (The race website said they had sponges, which I had hoped meant cake. Turns out it was actual sponges to wash any dirt off your hands.)
At the peak, I saw my first 'the race' runner eclipse me. So someone who started a half hour later had already caught up with me.
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| With the tower at the top of the hill. |
Getting down Corstorphine was a challenge in its own right. The day prior, it was pouring buckets in Edinburgh, making for some muddy and slippery hills.
Craighlockhart Hill
Following Corstorphine, we were met with beautiful views as we descended a nearby road.
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| Pentland Hills in the distance |
Still less familiar with the area, it was a case of following runners to the next hill, Craiglockhart.
At the base of the hill, young girls were pointing runners in the direction to go. Little did I know, but these girls were fiendishly pointing runners in the direction of the super steep route up the hill.
When I say super steep, I mean it was like climbing up a ladder where you had to find tree branches to use as rungs. With how muddy it was, it proved quite the challenge. But John loved it; it was his favorite part of the race. It certainly was the most memorable part for me.
I loved the camaraderie of it. Runners were keen to help one another out to get up this steep climb.
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| I look so much more tired after this hill. |
Braid Hills
Next we moved on to my favorite hill in Edinburgh, Braid Hills. You get the best view of the city there.
It's also not that high and super fun to run through. At this point, I was now walking up the hills (and sometimes down where it was too steep). But at Braid Hills, it was like running through a field.
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| My favorite hill, with my favorite boy. |
Blackford Hill
Blackford Hill is right next to Braid Hills, but unfortunately, the quickest way to get to it is to run all the way down into the Hermitage and then up the Hill.
On the way there, we had a choice to go left or right at one point. Unsure of what to do, we followed a man who confidently said right. I think this was technically the longer way, but it was also probably less steep.
Getting up to Blackford Hill felt like it took forever. There are steps leading up to it that are made for giants. Climbing them did not agree with my tiny legs.
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| We look happy, but we're tired. |
Arthur's Seat
I knew where I was going from Blackford Hill to Edinburgh's tallest hill, Arthur's Seat. But I felt so lost once I got there.
The way up I was normally used to was shut, so we used an alternative path up, which felt endless and strenuous. It was also incredibly windy.
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| Can you tell it was windy? |
I also couldn't see any runners at this point to follow, so I set us on a path to get down, only to find it wasn't a path down. This meant we had to run back to where we were and follow a path I was less sure of, but ended up being the right way to go.
While going this way, some other runners passed up who were discussing whether to go right or left at a point the path split into two. One runner said the path on the left was quieter and quicker.
It was quieter, but it was by no means quicker. I really regretted following this runner. At some points, we were going up again, which is the last direction I wanted to go. It basically took us around Arthur's seat before setting us on a path to get toward Calton Hill.
So much unnecessary mileage added. Arthur's Seat really broke John and me. I didn't care if I ran or walked. I just wanted to finish.
Calton Hill
The run finished where it started at Calton Hill. We did very little running on this last leg of the journey. We were shattered.
When we got close to ascending Calton Hill, it was depressing to see finishers who were leaving the event.
By the end, it had taken us 16 miles and 4:10:24. I hadn't run this long since the Loch Ness Marathon in 2023.
But to end on a high note, John waited near the finish line for me so we could cross the finish holding hands. Awww. What a cutie.
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| Our final selfie of the race. |
Running reflections
Seven Hills is the most out of shape I've felt for a race. I had been training with John for the Edinburgh Half Marathon, but our last big run was over a month prior for that. I could feel that I hadn't been running much lately.
I did my own version of the Seven Hills in 2021 as part of my monthly running challenges. I ran all seven over three different runs.
That was part of my Manchester Marathon training, and I can tell my current body is a long way from that level of fitness. I ran every inch of those hills apart from Arthur's Seat in 2021. This race, I only ran Castle Hill.
Granted, this was one race versus three different runs back then. But still, I was ill prepared for this challenge.
That said, I'm glad I did it, and I glad John ran it with me. We got the best views of Edinburgh on a beautiful day, and the challenging bits made for some memories we'll never forget.
Next race
Nothing booked, nothing on the horizon. Will 2025 be a year of one race? Quite possibly.
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