THIS was going to be a tough week. Six races in seven days taking in 47.5 miles of some of the toughest terrain in the United Kingdom. As ever, the key aims were to be competitive and to stay fit despite the demanding schedule.

My girlfriend Liz and I flew up from Southampton to Edinburgh courtesy of Flybe on the Saturday morning. The flight was unfortunately delayed, so this meant a quick dash from the airport to Penicuik which lies 10 miles south of the Scottish capital. I was looking for a gentle warm-up race on the Saturday and found the Penicuik race which seemed to ideally fit the bill.

We changed in the High School which was almost a throw back to the days of Goodbye Mr Chips. It had a lovely feel to it, with one of those old style gymnasiums, with shiny wooden floors and climbing frames around each of the sides.

One of the organizers, Susie Maxwell, was there to meet me. We had corresponded by e-mail and she had followed the racing schedule closely. Susie had posted up a flier with my photograph and details of the racing plan for the year, and that helped because I received several good wishes from the runners.

I also caught up with a sage of the club called George who told me about the history of the area and how Penicuik was once a hive of industry with two paper mills and it was home too to the Edinburgh Glass Company. But now that has all gone and Penicuik is a sleepy suburb of Edinburgh. The nearest big attraction is the local Ikea!

The weather was slightly overcast for the Penicuik 10km which started beside a park in the town and sent runners off through the centre and towards a stinker of a hill. "This isn't a hill, it's a Munro," I suggested to one of the runners who was breathlessly struggling up this steep, steep obstacle. The hill leading out of the town is a good half mile long, rising in two stages. You're almost running on the spot. I ran the best I could, trying to run within myself and then striding out on the top. I found myself running stride for stride most of the way with a lady called Isobel Knox from the fantastically named Hunters Bog Trotters. They are based in Edinburgh and wear a disgusting chocolate brown vest, but Isobel was good company as we battled our way out of Penicuik and along the back lanes making our way through the back markers.

The beginning of the race may be tough, but the second half of the Penicuik 10km is a dream. It is a spiraling downhill run for a good mile or two, twisting and turning along the road into town. With Isobel on my shoulder we pushed and paced hard. She was receiving plenty of support on the course which encouraged me not to lose the lady.

A couple of turns into the town, and a slight uphill before a final finish in the park with a 250m sprint. Isobel had tired a little by this stage, so I sprinted to the line for 70th in 44min 6sec, five seconds ahead of Isobel. We exchanged a few words at the end, then she hoisted a rucksack on her back and shouted "I'm off to work!"

It was a lovely race, and as seems to be the way with Irish and Scottish runs, there was a wonderful spread of sandwiches, cakes and tea laid on in the school hall afterwards. Here was a fantastic way to kick off my running week in Scotland.