This is an excellent event for a great cause which is close to my heart. The event itself is run on a 10 km loop with the start and finish being at Bonaly Scout Camp at the foot of the Pentland Hills in Edinburgh. The route itself is superb with some testing climbing and superb scenery. You start with the first km being pretty much uphill from the off, some has named this segment in Strava as Puke Hill, the bonus being you come back down it into the finish. The route the rolls down to Glencorse Reservoir before back into the hillside. Throughout it is very well marshalled and organised. Liked it that much done it again in 2018 and will most likely do it again if run this year as it’s on my doorstep. An excellent and worthwhile event all round, would recommend if you like the hills. A great mix of people from the fell runners to the novices wanting a challenge and raise money for Cancer Research UK at the same time.

This was my first trail race and it was a great run in the Pentlands.  It was a course that had evrything, changing terrain, puddles, mud, grass, paths - excellent for a first time trail runner.

The route starts on a 45° incline which everyone seemed to find tough, the rest of the course follows the top of the Pentlands before heading down towards Glencourse Reservoir which is a great downhill section. The organisers aptly named the climb back up the hill 'The Calf Burner' and burn the calfs it definitely did do.  The Water Station is located just after 6km which I felt was a bit too far but managed through and the downhill decent from 7km was awesome as we headed back towards Bonaly Outdoor Centre. 

Cancer Research have a great reputation for their Race of Life events and although #Tough10 is a newer event on the calendar I can see it becoming a firm favourite of runners.  It’s an event that provides a different type of challenge, is well organised and opens up trail running to more people than the more competitive events do.  I would definitely recommend #Tough10 to runners looking to try their hand at trail racing or the seasoned pro looking for a PB.  Check out www.cancerresearchuk.org for a list of their other Tough10 events.

https://autisticrunnerjohn.wordpress.com/2017/11/05/cruk-tough-10-edinburgh/