We came, we saw and Edinburgh You Kiltwalked

As I opened the curtains at around six a.m. on Sunday morning I realised why Edinburgh was called Auld Reekie because when I tried to see Murrayfield from my hotel window, I could hardly see across the other side of Corstorphine Road, as the sky, as my Mum used to say was as "thick as pea soup" and wasn't the start I was hoping for.

It was little better by the time I arrived at Murrayfield, or the rest of the morning for that matter, and the empty stadium was rather spooky, shrouded in damp cloud that you could almost touch, but it didn't dampen my spirits for what I find is the best part of Kiltwalk Day, the calm before the storm.

With everything in place there is something terrifying yet magical about the last half hour before we open the doors to Oor Kiltwalkers. We spend months planning these events but we never quite know what's going to happen or how excited people will be when they arrive as no two Kiltwalks are ever the same.

So it started with a trickle and turned into a flood as 1,000 Kiltwalkers walked down the tunnel to take in the atmosphere of what was for many, their first Kiltwalk.

I have to say that having walked Hampden to Loch Lomond 4 weeks earlier I had completely forgotten how taxing it is to be behind the scenes as there's always something crackling across the airways, yes we now have Walky Talkies!!

"We need fuel at pit stop five or the generator is going to run out" was one of the early ones. Then there was "we're still missing two people for the Wee Walk buses that were due to leave ten minutes ago and what's worse is they're lost trying to get here". However the crisis was averted by sending the buses on their way and then Andrew and Ashley driving like maniacs to get our missing Kiltwalkers to Crammond in time for the start.

By the time our walkers started arriving we realised the first aiders were are at the wrong end of the stadium, so get them here quick. Frankie & Benny's were short of a Gazebo so we quickly moved one from one area to another. The 13 mile walkers were that keen, they started arriving two hours before they were due to set off, which could have been a logistical nightmare as we had to restock supplies and then get ready to swap 'green cards' for 'blue cards' but hey, all of this adds to the buzz of Kiltwalk Day.

We also had some amazing sites and stories unfold across the day. There were dogs with Kilts on, the sweetest 85 year old you'll ever meeting took part in the 13 mile walk, Sponge Bob Square pants was there and we had plenty of plastic bums hanging out of kilts, must be an Edinburgh thing!!

There was then the moment I met a incredibly courageous guy, who I won't name, but he'll know who he is if he reads this.

As the 13 mile walkers arrived a group of people passed through registrations and I was in mid flow announcing where to register, where to pick up your juices, energy bars and poncho's, however one guy hung back until he caught my eye.

I welcomed him to Kiltwalk Day and asked him how he was doing and as soon as I asked him, his face crumbled at which point I realised he had a story to tell, sorry make that needed to share.

He explained how he and his partner had excitedly signed up for The Kiltwalk and had talked about it for months, with genuine excitement.

His partner had been a childhood sweetheart and they had gone out for a while before growing apart as can often happen at a young age.

The years passed and his old flame had a daughter and after years apart they met again in January this year and rekindled their romance. Life was good, no make that great and last Sunday they realised they wanted to spend the rest of their life together so got engaged.

A few hours later, with the announcement made public, they sat down to watch TV together and talk about planning a a wedding date when out of the blue his partner took a massive brain hemorrhage and was immediately admitted to hospital. He was devastated and hoped for a miracle, however the miracle didn't happen and his partner died on Thursday evening.

So completely heart broken, and with his face racked with grief, he decided he, along with his Partners daughter, who took her Mum's place, were going ahead and walking in her memory.

For once I was speechless and as he turned away to walk down the tunnel, we both had tears in our eyes.

I was there at the end and saw him at the finish line, however we didn't speak as no words were required, there was just a simple nod of the head in recognition and in memory of his partner.

So for me and many others it was a day filled with emotion however with the tears, there was also plenty of good old Kiltwalk laughter, which we're now accustomed to on Kiltwalk Day.

Kiltwalk day is also fast becoming the time to meet what are now becoming great Kiltwalk friends such as Team Summer, The Aila Coull Foundation gang and many others. It was great to meet some of Oor 'virtual' Kiltwalk friends like Oor Sam Currie, Oor Ross and Sam Simpson, Oor Lindsey Menzies, Oor John McCulloch, Oor Brenda Douglas, Oor Tommy Miller. Oor Mo MacPherson Kincaid. Oor Linda Dryden, Oor Elaine Mitchell, Oor Isabel and Mike McManus and Oor Mark McCullim, who came all the way from Germany to take part.

We also had Oor Wilma who walked Hampden to Loch Lomond and loved it so much she brought her Dad along to volunteer and suffice to say they both had a blast.

So after setting it all up on Saturday and assembling at 07:00 on Sunday, it was time to pull it all down around 21:00 after our last walkers, Beth and Megan crossed the line and we then headed to the Murrayfield Hotel for a well earned pint and reflect on a great day.

However as we sat down and enjoyed our pint, the conversation immediately started and continued for an hour on all the things we could have done better and will fix for next year. Had there been confusion with two walks going in opposite directions? was the signage at some points in town good enough? the missing this, or the lack of that and so it continued.

We really were beating ourselves with a stick, at which point I heard myself say "look, tonight's not the time for analysing what didn't go right, tonight's a night to say well done for putting on such a great bash for our first attempt at Edinburgh, and relief that another ones over.

The "great bash" was wasn't my words, it was the words of Oor Kiltwalkers who were hitting Social Media in a big way and telling us how much they had enjoyed the whole Kiltwalk experience and in particular the pit stops, so well done to the guys at TACC, Aberlour, CLIC Sargent, Edinburgh Royal Sick Kids and CHAS. You're all setting the bar high, so let's get planning for Speyside as it will be here before you know it!!

I want to end by mentioning Team Aine.

You may remember our Blipfoto from a few weeks ago when we told the story of 5 year old Aine McDermott, from Penicuik who suffers from Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (CCHS).

CCHS is a rare disorder of the central nervous system where the automatic control of breathing is absent or impaired. A CCHS patient's respiratory response to low oxygen levels or high CO2 is, sluggish when awake and absent to varying degrees during sleep or illness.

This means Aine will have to sleep with a ventilator for the rest of her life and can't return home from Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital until a care package is in place along with an overnight carer and that won't be in place until December 2013.

So as a thank you for all the care, love and support Edinburgh Sick Kids provide, Team Aine are taking part in The Kiltwalk to fund raise for them and these two picture perfect kids, who along with their Dad, Keith, walked as part of Team Aine on Sunday and it turns out Team Aine enjoyed it so much, they're signing up for Speyside on the 1st September :-)

Not only has Keith and his kids signed up, Oor Joanne as she's now officially know, watch out for her blipfoto shortly, has joined Team Aine and will be Kiltwalking in Speyside.

It appears Oor Kiltwalkers "Just can't get enough" of The Kiltwalk.