The Rat Race Urban Adventure Challenge
Edinburgh is the home of the Rat Race Urban Adventure Challenge, which takes place on the streets, alleyways and underbelly of the Capital. This amazing event, which is now hosted by eight other cities in the UK & Ireland (and in 2008 heads to Australia) started life in the Edinburgh in 2004 and was devised by ex-Red Bull events guru Jim Mee, who was keen to develop urban adventure sports. Edinburgh is the obvious choice for this event, with its iconic architecture, canals, sprawling parklands and the dominating volcanic plug of Arthur's Seat set within the City limits. Add to this the wide expanse of the Firth of Forth, the nearby Pentland Hills and the friendly folks that Rat Pakers meet on the night and it's easy to see why Edinburgh is such a great venue.
Each year participants line up in Princes Street Gardens and burst out into the city over a July weekend, where they come face-to-face with a city-wide adventure playground with the course only being revealed moments before they begin.
The event normally includes running, biking, navigation, climbing, abseiling and a series of unexpected skill, physical and comedic challenges which add up to a memorable experience. Participants can either take on the shorter 'Mean Streets' prologue on the Saturday night, which involves racing round the City for 2.5 hours covering around 10 miles? Or for more experienced adventurers there's the option to undertake the full adventure race, combining Saturday's prologue with a full day of Rat Racing on Sunday.
Past events have seen competitors abseil from the roofs of Murrayfield and Tynecastle stadiums and burrow their way into some of the city's best kept secrets, including the underground vaults of Edinburgh's Old Town - secret 'wynds' and passageways hidden in the bowels of 'Auld Reekie'. The event 'goes green' too, with participants getting a healthy dose of fresh air in the surrounding countryside.
For a totally different way to see Edinburgh, join the Rat Pak by logging onto www.ratraceadventure.com. The Rat Race takes place in several other cities throughout the UK, if you want to take part but are unable to get to Edinburgh. Further information is also available from info@ratraceadventure.com or call 0845 009 4365.
