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The Drop Edinburgh

Drop Everything This April 1st

No map, no GPS, no route, no help, no compass, no watch… no problem!

There's an event taking place in Edinburgh on 1 April that involves participants handing over their electronic devices, phones, watches and money at registration before being blindfolded and 'dropped' 10/15 miles away... and no, this isn't an April fool!

Edinburgh's The Drop will see runners parted with their tech, then escorted onto The Drop bus, blindfolded with blackout safety goggles and driven to their ‘Drop’ – 10 miles or 15 miles as the crow flies from their start. At that point they’ll be released, with nothing left to do but make their way back, unsupported, to their start in the city centre – a location not revealed until a week before the race.

They’ll be given a race number and an emergency bag – into which all their precious connections to the outside world will be sealed, not to be opened until they cross the finish line.

Although most participants in The Drop – currently operating in 14 other UK locations – are individual runners, walkers and teams are also welcome to take part. And how do runners cope with not knowing where they’re going, or how long it will take to get there? According to organisers, there’s usually a lot of discussion between the participants at registration about how they’re going to tackle the event – but in the end, they all seem to go the same way.

Organisers say: “We find that runners who sign up to the 10-mile option often cover about 13 to 15 miles to get back. Some make the mistake of following road signs to get back to their start points, and that’s not always the shortest way home.”

Using GPS, maps, any equipment other than what is provided, anything other than their own two legs or breaking the seal on the emergency bag results in removal from the results.

Does the removal of all their gadgets cause some anxiety? Quite the opposite apparently. “So many people comment on how long it’s been since they’ve run without a watch. And after they do it at the Drop, they’re really positive about the experience, not being attached to a piece of tech.”

If you'd like to know more, visit The Drop website.

Image: The Drop UK

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