GetOut ActivitiesOutdoors
This sporting life Hey you! Lazybones! It’s warm outside, which means there’s no excuse for your sofa addiction anymore. Niki Boyle has the best suggestions for getting sporty through spring and summer
RUNNING INFO ■ Visit www.runglasgow.org for info on the Glasgow Running Network or phone 0141 287 5079. For Edinburgh visit www.edinburghrunningnetwork.co.uk
■ The Great Scottish Run, Glasgow, Sun 5 Sep. Register at www.runglasgow.org/ GSR-2010/enter-online.php ■ Registration has closed for the Edinburgh Marathon and the MoonWalk, but you can still cheer on participants on Sun 23 May and Sat 19 Jun respectively.
■ Glasgow par kour: www.glasgowparkour.co.uk; Edinburgh par kour: www.ed-pk.com
■ The Rat Race, Edinburgh, Sat 17 & Sun 18 Jul. Register at ratraceadventure.com
■ For information on walking the West Highland Way visit www.west-highland-way.co.uk
Make a splash at the pool
Even a few lengths every now and then will help you stay trim, and you don’t need the feet of a platypus or a total absence of body hair to give it a go. Glasgow has plenty to offer in the way of watery workouts, with 11 pools across the city, including the 50m competition pool at Tollcross Park Leisure Centre and the Easterhouse Pool at The Bridge, home to some great kids’ facilities. The best for taking advantage of good weather has to be Bellahouston Leisure Centre, with an outdoor pool in addition to its main, leisure and baby pools inside. Best of all, the Glasgow Kidz Card means the little ‘uns swim for free. Edinburgh also has a variety of pools: the
SWIMMING INFO
GLASGOW: ■ Tollcross Park Leisure Centre, 350 Wellshot Rd, 276 0801. Easterhouse Pool at The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Rd, 276 9696. Bellahouston Leisure Centre, Bellahouston Drive, 276 0767. ■ Visit www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/ Sports_Fitness/SportsFacilities for swimming pool opening times and information on getting a Glasgow Kidz Card.
EDINBURGH: ■ Portobello Swim Centre, 57 Promenade, 669 6888. Leith Waterworld, 377 Easter Rd, 555 6000. Glenogle Swim Centre, Glenogle Rd, 343 6376. ■ Visit www.edinburghleisure.co.uk for swimming pool opening times.
Rat Race
Put your feet through their paces
Why walk when you can run? There are many great running routes around the parks and green spaces of Glasgow and Edinburgh (try www.mapmyrun.com or www.walkjogrun.co.uk for ideas) and several running clubs to help you make the most of them. In the west the Glasgow Running Network encourages people to embrace the spirit of exercise, while the similarly-named Edinburgh Running Network does the same on the east coast. Official events in each city also provide great opportunities to strap on your trainers, with the 10k or half marathon Great Scottish Run in Glasgow now open for applications before the starter’s pistol in September. Registration costs less than £25 at www.runglasgow.org. Entry for the Edinburgh Marathon (and Scottish half- marathon) is now closed but the event, held on Sun 23 May this year, is worth considering for
18 THE LIST 13–27 May 2010
2011. Also look out for the MoonWalk – a full (or half) marathon around the night-time streets of the capital in aid of breast cancer. It’s entirely possible that none of this sounds challenging enough – why stick to roads and pavements? Par kour (or free-running as it’s better known over here) is alive and thriving thanks to some unique architectural opportunities in both cities. Spots around the universities in both Glasgow and Edinburgh are popular if you want to catch young people imitating flying squirrels. If you’re feeling even more adventurous, why not enter the Rat Race – an annual competition in which teams run, bike, kayak, climb and abseil in a mad scramble around the capital.
Slowing the pace, Milngavie, on the outskirts of Glasgow, is bustling at this time of year with folk about to walk the West Highland Way – a 96-mile trek to Fort William that takes in some of Scotland’s most stunning scenery, including Loch Lomond and Glen Coe.