Wednesday, 6 March 2013

Days we'll remember all our lives...sport does that!

Wales used to empty for Scottish rugby fixtures.
The days of 20,000 Welshfolk descending on Edinburgh from the Tuesday onwards may be passed, but some teams have preserved some long-fought fixtures, especially in the Scottish borders and Edinburgh, prior to 'The Big One' at Murrayfield on the Saturday.

These days matches often commence at 5pm or later, on Sundays, and even have taken place on Friday nights, with television seeking to maximally expose the annual 6 Nations' rugby championship.

Here are some classic memories from bygone years in both Edinburgh and Cardiff, with the Welsh footage dominating, possibly unsurprisingly given results over the past decade.

BBC Sport Scotland v Wales highlights

Anyhow, as the 2 teams in 2nd place in the Championship play off this weekend, it still feels right to look back before we look ahead to the weekend, and the latest instalment of The Big One between the two Celtic nations...

Saturday, 2 March 2013

Urban Running: Edinburgh Springtime Edition

February ended up with clear blue sun-filled skies and perfect air: terrific conditions for running through the streets of Edinburgh near @SpaceClinics Central!


We blogged a year ago about the joys of running through the cities of Europe, and even found some pleasures in the oft-choked citiescapes of North America.

Joys of Urban Running

Winter is a terrific time to be out and about: many of the patients we see at this time of year are in preparation for the marathons of London, Edinburgh or Paris. They are currently accumulating miles, and occasionally injuries or niggles for which they rock up at Dalry Road in a bid to maintain their mileage and ensure they are on course for 'their' time.

Marathons and running timetables are useful now as the demand for events has risen (eg Marathon & Running Events Calendar 2013), possibly as a result of urban running being an inexpensive way to 'keep fit' long after the gym membership has expired or been cancelled. This appears to be very much the case in cities such as Dublin, where JT & Stephen visited last Autumn, finding heaps of weekend running groups traversing the millenium-old roadways. We were told that gym membership was being seen as an expensive luxury item, and more folk were taking to the streets with their trainers and running in packs for cardio-vascular exercise.


And there are other events of lesser distances to which training is essential to prevent disappointment (and possibly injury).

Why wouldn't you, when you get to run through areas in Edinburgh such as these.


Of course, if you are anxious about commencing running, or have an injury that has you concerned about whether or not you should try running on roads, drop in to the clinic in Edinburgh's West End, or email us with a specific query: only too happy to help and get Scotland moving!!!