Source Code

Super saturday outing to the cinema to see Source Code. Excellent film. Edge of the seat all the way through.

Nice & Cap Ferrat

Stayed over for an extra night after the conference and walked from the Centre of Nice to the Villa Ephrusi Rothschild at Cap Ferrat. Took in many sights along the way on a lovely sunny day. Nice centre and seafront, old town and Castle on the hill, past the port and round the headland of Mount Boron through to Villefranche Sur Mer and then to the villa and garden on Cap Ferrat. A good 8 hours walking.

Actuarial Directors Conference - Cannes

One of the occasional perks of the job - a trip to Cannes to attend a conference with actuarial directors from around Europe. Stayed at the Majestic Barriere Hotel on the front. Not a bad view from the hotel room.

The Might Deerstalker

Went off on Saturday to Traquair House for the Mighty Deerstalker Run. The race started on a pleasant saturday evening at 5.45 pm. The course went through lots of mud and water before climbing the first hill. Fast run down a mountain bike course and then through town and a 100m walk along a freezing river as darkness descended. The second big hill then followed with what felt like a pretty dangerous climb up a steep scree slot. Down through the forest and through waste high drainage channel to finish at Traquair House. Felt pretty strong throughout and came home at a decent pace. Great fun race although I do think it's an accident waiting to happen with some of the runners our for 4 1/2 hours on a freezing cold evening after running through freezing water at several points along the way.

522 place of 1673.

SOSOL - Palacerigg

Max and Colin headed out to Palacerigg Country Park near Cumbernauld. Snow was still on the ground and temperatures low. Max had a poor slow run and was near bottom of the field. Colin had a good first half and then fell apart in the second half with some big misses.

KB5

A cold snowy day for the 5 mile race in South Edinburgh. The pavements were all covered in slush making the going very tough. Enjoyed the race but with a slow time - part conditions part form to blame.

Night O at Blackford Hill

Hannah joined Colin for her first orienteering outing in a few years. A gentle jog and walk round selected controls. Lots of bats in the woods. Some fierce snow and winds on the hill by the end.

SOL 1 - Dalrulzion

Out for some orienteering to the North of Bridge of Cally. A lot of standing about beforehand as I was helping out as our club was running the event. Very poor performance in the difficult forest. Got a bit lost on the second control and the terrain was very hard to get any speed on. Near the bottom of the pack unfortunately.

Fight with the Night

Spot of Night Orienteering at Riccarton Campus. Struggled a bit with the map. Running form pretty good.

Sosol - John Muir Country Park

Lovely sunny morning. Headed out to Dunbar for the orienteering. Max did well coming 3rd on the Light Green course. Colin wasn't too bad coming 10th on the Brown. Nice location which we must visit for a long walk some day.

Gran Canaria

We had a lovely week in Gran Canaria enjoying the warmth and constant sunshine. Just one day out exploring the island. The rest of the time we enjoyed the pool and the pleasant area around the hotel. Stayed at the Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort.

Max's Blog

The address has changed to www.lostdrawingbook.tumblr.com

Sprint O

Ending off a busy month of orienteering and racing Colin took part in the ESOC sprint. First course at Corstorphine was fairly technical and got round with only minor errors. The second course was fast and furious and should have been easier than it turned out to be. Made a mistake towards the end and so finished with a mp.

Holyrood Park SOSOL

The athletic weekend continued with an event in Holyrood Park. Lots of tough climbing to deal with on some difficult courses. Max did very well coming in 3rd on the Light Green course in a larger than usual field. Colin did OK on the Brown.

Edinburgh City Race

Colin out in the Edinburgh City Orienteering race. Bit of a long slog but did quite well coming 28th of 95 runners. Pushed myself quite hard and only small navigational errors.

We all went out to see the Kings Speech in the evening.

Glasgow 3 Parks

We stayed overnight in Glasgow for the 3 Parks Orienteering Champs. Started at Bellahouston Park (near Ibrox) then off to Tollcross Park (near Parkhead) and then to Drumpellier Park in Coatbridge.

Max did well coming 2nd in the Junior course. Colin was ok'ish. Results not in yet but probably around mid-table.

Fiddlers' Bid

We all travelled across to Glasgow on Saturday afternoon for a concert at the Glasgow Concert Hall that evening. Quick Italian meal beforehand and then enjoyed an excellent concert.

First up were the Fox Hunt and Henry Girls (pictured) who played an excellent set. Lovely acoustics in the concert hall helped as well. Fiddlers' Bid were good as well with some help from Humbert Humbert from Japan and a team of 20 Vikings on stage at the end.

Great Winter Run

Max and Colin were out running in the Great Winter Run. Overnight snow had coated Edinburgh in about 5 cm of snow. A slightly less hilly 5 km course was used rather than round the Seat.

Started right at the back of the pack and worked our way steadily forward. Big crowd but just enough space to be comfortable. Max did very well maintained a good steady pace throughout, even on the long steep climb. Finished with a great speed burst at the end.

Max finished in 707 th place in 30 minutes 27 seconds.

DON'T Send any Sponsorship yet as Max hasn't confirmed he will do the Mongolia Challenge yet.

Fun Friday

New years resolution to get out for some family fun every friday. Went to Pizza Express, Hannah's favourite for a nice meal. Also out to see the Illusionist on Thursday evening - lovely animation largely set in Edinburgh.

Pentlands

Out for a short walk in the Pentlands to Allermuir summit. Snow still on the hills and temperatures at the foothills - 4 °. More heavy snow forecast for tonight.

Greenmantle Dash

First time I've made it down to Broughton for the new year run since 2007. A very cold morning but conditions otherwise fine. Time was the slowest of my 3 efforts at the race coming in at around 25:02. Not a lot of kick in the legs today.

Portobello Promathon

Out for the new years race at Portobello. Conditions were quite good if a little cold. I wasn't expecting great things having suffered a bit with a cold. Set off at a relatively easy pace but proved to be quite good at around 7:30 for first mile. Maintained that pace pretty well to get my third best time (of 5) for this race.