a new opinion in Sports about Edinburgh Marathon

It was fate rather than choice that led me to enter the Edinburgh marathon this year. I had been entered into the London marathon, but just four weeks before the race I came down with a particularly nasty chest bug, meaning that I was unable to train during the most vital weeks. It was such a virulent bug that I had to be signed off work, so I knew that I would not be able to run London and began to look for an alternative race to run. Having put so much energy and effort into my training I did not want it to go to waste. Edinburgh was simply the best timed/most convenient one for me to run, but there was only one day left to enter with a Good For Age place and you had to have your time verified in order to be able to enter online. It was in the hands of fate....

Unlike London there is no ballot for Edinburgh. Entries are on a first come, first served basis. There are 30,000 places available in total, but those include the half marathon and shorter 'fun' events included in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. Of the marathon places some are reserved for elite athletes, some more for Top Club Runners, and others for Good For Age. Their criteria for these places is actually more stringent than at London, and whereas I was due to compete at London on a Championships place (one step down from elite), at Edinburgh I didn't quite make the grade as a Top Club Runner (for women you need a sub 3 hour marathon to your name to qualify for this). The Good For Age qualifying time for senior women is 3 and a half hours, and I had previously run 3 hours 8 minutes at London, which was quick and easy for them to verify. I received my pin code to enter the race just 4 hours before the deadline. Phew, I was in. And ?47 plus booking fee poorer.

Edinburgh doesn't attract the same 'fun runner' crowd that London does. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it is easy to enter so people don't have to rely on charity places. Charity places do exist though, and these tend to be available even after normal entries have closed. I did spot a handful of runners in fancy dress, but most charity runners seemed to have opted to run in the charity vest. No rhinos here.

By the time I got my entry all of the local hotels were fully booked, however there were still spaces available at one or two BnBs in the general area, plus a couple of vacant and not overly pricey hotel rooms nearer to the finish (Musselburgh - a few miles outside of the city centre). I was lucky enough to have friends living just 10 minutes outside the city centre, so I stayed with them. Travel to Edinburgh is fairly easy to come by. There's not a lot of parking if you were to drive though. I opted for the train from Newcastle (where my parents live), and even though I was booking quite late I was able to get some very cheap tickets. Another option would be to fly if you live far away.

I can't comment on the mini expo thing on the Saturday, as I didn't actually go to it. I spent that day travelling. Numbers were sent out in the post, so it really wasn't necessary to go to it, and personally I
prefer to rest my legs as much as possible the day before a big race.

There are two start lines for the Edinburgh marathon, and mine was on Regent Road. On arrival on race morning I spotted the luggage trucks immediately. Just like at London you just find the one with your race
number and hand over your bag to the volunteers. No stress, no fuss. Then it was just a short walk to the assembly area and the portaloos. Now those I'm afraid were rather unpleasant even early on. They were blocked and smelly. However, I went for a warm up jog a little way down the road and came across a block of public toilets that were clean and, most importantly, had no queues. Top tip there!

There were the usual announcements of the elite athletes before the gun, but no silly aerobics warm up or any of that nonsense. What a relief! The start was smooth and efficient and we were off, heading away from the city centre. The first few miles are rather downhill so it is important not to get too carried away, yet not panic if your pace is a little faster than you planned. Many, many runners went off way too quickly and paid the price later on. We passed Holyrood Palace, went through some ugly industrial looking areas, and eventually popped out onto the promenade. Essentially you then follow the coastline until mile 18. The course is gently undulating here, and I do mean gentle.

There isn't a huge amount of support until you run past the finish line just before the 10 mile marker. Already the crowds have built up here, no doubt thanks to the half marathon runners staying behind after finishing their race, which took place earlier in the day. There was also good support at the Hairy Haggis Relay changeover points.

At 15 miles or so you pass a power station. That did not make for pretty scenery! However soon afterwards you go into the grounds of Gosforth House. Here it is a little trickier underfoot, but it is pretty. There was a band for entertainment (although as I passed just one flautist was playing a slow and out-of-time version of Strawberry Fair - hardly inspiring running music!). We did have the pleasure of a whole field of cows lined up against the fence watching us run past just before we left the grounds. That was a little disturbing to say the least. Once out of there you're on the return straight and the slower runners are coming down the opposite side of the carriageway, which is quite nice. Maybe not so nice for them though!

The last 5 miles or so are slightly uphill, and this year we had a headwind to play with here as well. Those runners who had set off too quickly were really struggling here, and I passed quite literally hundreds. We pass that ruddy power station again and we're so nearly there! There are quite a few potholes on this stretch of road and my tired legs were feeling every one of them. They really need to resurface the road.

The finish line is a little odd. You finish in a field, but rather than run on the grass they have you running over this strange bouncy metal mesh stuff. I assume it is to protect the grass, but it doesn't half feel weird under your feet after 26 miles of running. Another criticism of the finish is that only a couple of designated charities can get to the finish line as spectators, while all of the other supporters have to stand further up. Just a little unfair in my opinion.

Once over the line my (enormous and heavy) medal was hung around my neck, water was handed to me and my goody bag was presented to me. Collecting these required very little thought or effort, which is always a bonus in such situations. The T-shirt is made of technical material (one in the eye for the London marathon and their gigantic cotton T-shirts) and the Small doesn't swamp me. Also in the goody bag was a sachet of hydration powder, a High 5 Zero tablet and some leaflets. I have a vague memory of there
being food in there too, but I can't really remember, as my brain was somewhat addled!

In my exhausted state I had trouble locating the baggage trucks, but I suspect that was just me. My bag was handed to me before I'd even got there.

I cannot criticise the organisation at all. The start and finish were efficient, the water stations were frequent and well stocked, gels were handed out at the later water stations, the marshals were friendly and knew what they were doing and the baggage trucks were excellent. I have heard criticism of the shuttle buses though. Apparently folks who parked at the finish then wanted to get a bus to the start line before the race were left waiting for a long time, leaving runners rather worried. The organisers say this was due to there having been a murder in the city centre and the police had closed the roads. We can't really hold them responsible for that. However I also heard of issues with the buses getting back to the start afterwards for folks who had used public transport or who parked near the start. I didn't use them
myself so I'm not qualified to pass comment.

All in all I have to rate the race quite highly. I'd do it again, if only it wasn't at the same time of year as the London marathon, as, while it was good, it wasn't *as* good as London. It was also quite expensive to
enter compared to London. Also there were no sports drinks available on the course, just gels. Luckily the gels were the High 5 ones that I favour (and have previously reviewed). I also took my own gels as it is better to start taking them early on in the race.

Oh, and did I mention I got a PB? I don't think I did :-) 3 hours, 1 minute and 50 seconds for 8th lady.

Summary: A close second best to London.

Source: http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/sports-locations/edinburgh-marathon/1715509/

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