Ghosts and ghouls take part in 5K assault course race at Scottish castle

Scottish Assault Courses recently held their second only annual Halloween Night-Time 5k Obstacle Course Run on Winton Estate in East Lothian, attracting over 180 runners from all over Scotland.

Ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and vampires descended on Winton from as far and wide as Angus, Ayrshire, Edinburgh and the Lothians, with most participants entering the spirit of the run by arriving in Halloween attire.

The Winton Halloween Night-Time 5K attracted teams from local running clubs, obstacle course clubs and a wide variety of participants, young and old, from across the country. RTR scaffolding, who generously sponsored the event and built the climbing platforms complete with fireman’s pole, said it was a pleasure to be involved in such a fun event, and especially liked seeing participants tackling their version of a rope swing over the muddy water pit! 

These ghastly challenges complemented the high walls, tunnels, monkey bars and many mud and water obstacles which made up the new 2-mile long Edinburgh Assault Course on the estate. 

“I ran the course with my son Calum,” says Francis Ogilvy, owner of Winton. “The experience of climbing obstacles together, sliding through them, crawling along them or under them is easier to share than describe! We enjoyed mud-caked grins, the shock when the freezing river water penetrated to the skin, and the shakes that make drinking hot chocolate afterwards very welcome, so didn’t mind the aching muscles the next day! 

“It was also refreshing to be running alongside the Scottish Cross-Country champion, and I don’t need to say that he was half my height and still at Primary school.

“Perhaps the experience was like a good wine, enjoyed in three stages: the bravado beforehand, the comedy during, and the stories afterwards. There’s surely a bit of that in everyone! The Scottish Assault Courses team had designed the course for all ages and stages.” 

Scott Smith and Gus Mcleod, Co-owners of Scottish Assault Courses Edinburgh, says: “Motivating music and warm-ups were provided by Lasertech Disco. For the first time, we’d got Light Audio to provide moving light, smoke and chilling sound effects in the woods. The results were spectacularly scary! 

“Afterwards, the food and drink, with burgers, chips and cheese from Winton Events, were a firm favourite.”

The existing assault course on the Winton Estate is suitable for adults and kids age 8 upwards. Ever popular with birthday parties, hens and stags, school groups, corporate incentive events, company awaydays and OCR enthusiasts, the post-event feedback is always positive judging by the broad smiles on the participants faces crossing the finishing line. To support the runners, Winton is always on hand to cater for hungry appetites by laying on delicious party food, from sandwiches and picnics, to BBQs and hog roasts

Scott and Gus add: “Feedback on the Halloween 5K has been superb with lots of runners commenting on the photos on the Scottish Assault Courses Edinburgh Facebook page. Thank you very much to Grant Bullock Photography for his excellent photos, and a huge thank you to the registration team and marshals who all volunteered their time to help.”

Next year’s Winton Halloween Night-Time 5K Obstacle Course Run will be on Saturday 31st October 2020 and promises to be bigger and better than ever. Scottish Assault Courses Edinburgh and Winton Events look forward to seeing everyone getting their ghosts on again in 2020! 

You can see more on the Winton Castle website.