Edinburgh MarathonHere's how RW members rated this race (1532 votes). 2009 race reviewed by: david goodwin 3
 | | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: a day to remember, but for the wrong reasons.
In full: this was my 50th marathon and my 5th
edinburgh marathon.
having seen how the route has changed so
much and how the number of entrants has
increased it appears to me the race has
not improved by this. to run out of water
is extremely poor and also dangerous in
such conditions, and again as in 2008
getting from the finish line through the
crowds and back to the city via the buses
really is very difficult.
the route might be fast for the vast minority
of elite runners but is this really the
major factor for the masses, probably not.
if the race continues to finish so far out
the city I think my days visiting edinburgh
are over which saddens me really.
improvements/changes needed with immediate
effect and if necessary limit the number of
entrants because clearly the organisers
cannot cope. not good.
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Donnie Murdo
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Mixed emotions
In full: Despite Scotland's first heatwave of the 21st century I achieved my target time inj my first marathon. However, communication at the racecourse regarding the reunion area was diabolical and left me stranded and frustrated for a long time. Edinburgh has a stunning cityscape and atmosphere so more mileage in the city centre and a finish closer to the centre would be preferable.
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: andrew richardson
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: Bit of a curates' egg of a race- good in parts...
In full: Great support & great finish, Nice flat & quite scenic course, good baggage system, start was pretty slick...however bad points - little water to be found for much of second half of the race was poor. Transport out of Musselbrough was a joke as well, a few signs to suggest where the service buses were running from would be good, also the charity tents were scattered & took me an age to find the right one at the finish.
When I finished I swore I'd never do another marathon and would have chcked my trainers on the fire if we had one...That said I'm now thinking of comng back next year to see I can do a bit better!
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Ros Matthews
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Fast marathon but poor organiser foresight given hot weather predictions.
In full: The support and general organisation of the course was all very well-intended but I think given the numbers running and the weather conditions there should have been some contingency planning! Luckily I was able to get water at every station - but really feel for those that couldn't - and those expecting to run a marathon but having the distance cut short(!!) Overall - a great PB potential marathon, but if its hot - make sure you can run fast!
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Mick The Mackem
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: I'll be back next year to do my 4th Edinburgh.
In full: Ive read through some of the reports about Sunday.All I can say as long as the organisers take note and address the issues then champion.I for one missed out on a much needed gel at 19 mile and suffered for it.I really enjoyed the race.I took my time knowing the sun was cracking the pavements.Next year I'll be a wee bit more prepered.
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Pipes2k1
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Great race, weather was too hot, definite water problems
In full: The negatives have been said by many, so I don't want to focus on them. But one thing I do want to point out is even with the apparent theft of 6,804 water bottles, there were 13,101 marathon starters plus 4,172 relay runners. So even without even considering the relay runners, if the theft hadn't occured then a little over half of the marathon runners would have had 1 extra bottle each for the whole course. It still wouldn't have been enough. Factor in the relayer's drinking some too and you're talking even less. The theft is not an excuse.
Positives are the course is very scenic, the atmosphere was good and the crowd support was excellent. The finishing stretch was amazing and the grandstand finish was excellent too. The medal is great and the technical t-shirt with a choice of sizes is brilliant too (unlike London this year!!) It would have been nice to run around more of Edinburgh though. I'm glad I did it, but I'm not sure I'd do it again.
Improvements I would suggest is splitting the water and lucozade stations out. Regardless of the water supply levels, the stations were too far out. For example officially there is a water station at 15.3 miles and then none until 19 miles. 3.7 miles is a long way to run without water in 24C of heat. Why not have a lucozade station in between, rather than having 2 lucozades at 21.8 and 24.2 miles, when those are also both water stations.
I would advise people to give this marathon a go to make up your own mind, Edinburgh is a beautiful city, but bring your own drinks as they can't be relied on.
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Slowly Slowly
| | Overall score | | 20% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Money back
In full: I second everything that has been said before about this event and the shockingly poor organisation. But what has really upset me is the attitude of the organisers. It is one thing to run out of water – but quite another to belittle the slower runners by inferring that it was only them that were affected and shortening the course thus taking away their ability to complete the full marathon. In addition to this it was unacceptable for the DJ at the finish to make rude comments about the runners still on the course!
Rather than spending the day drafting an unreserved apology for their comments in the press over the past two days – they are trying to pretend that the water shortages were due to a mysterious theft! So how do they account for the water shortage at Mile 3?
I want my money back and I want the organisers to shoulder their responsibility with an unreserved apology to every single runner.
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Geoff Sims
| | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: |
In short: Edinburgh Marathon Organisers Statement
In full: Dear Marathon Runners,
We have issued the below statement and can totally understand the frustration than many of you feel we unreservedly apologise for the issues you encountered. Please continue to leave your feedback here and on our post race report which will be emailed to all runners this week.
Geoff Sims – Chief Executive
Neil Kilgour – Race Director
Caroline Vevers – Event Director
Damien O'Looney - Marketing Director
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: Kent plodder
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Lukewarm
In full: I travelled up from Kent for this. Based on the pre-race information received I was expecting the organisation to be really slick. In the end I was left feeling like the whole thing had been organised on a shoestring budget. I can't understand why - surely with the number of entrants and the high entry fee there was a budget to put on a decent race?
Many others have commented on the failings. In my opinion the organisers simply never provided adequately for the number of runners and the venue and logistical arrangements couldn't cope. But even if there had been only 100 runners there are things that underimpressed, such as the lack of and positioning of mile markers.
Communication at the racecourse was useless and I don't think the volunteers had been briefed properly. For example - it took me an hour to get to the Reunion Area after twice being directed the wrong way! It would have helped if a few large prominent signs had been erected!
As to the water, I'm sure some people did take two bottles but I doubt whether there were enough supplies to begin with.
On a positive note - the people of Scotland I enjoyed your company and sense of humour. Edinburgh is a beautiful city. Thanks to all the volunteers and spectators who helped out under unpleasant circumstances.
Sack the organisers and improve the facilities and I will be back!
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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2009 race reviewed by: AnnetteD
| | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: |
In short: EDINBURGH MARATHON REPORT WATER THEFT
In full: The Edinburgh Marathon today reported the theft of at least 6,804 bottles of water (3 Pallets) and 4,040 Lucozade Energy gels which were stolen from the route in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The thefts left two out of nine water stations on the Edinburgh Marathon route without water for a period of 40 minutes between miles 15 and 21.
Organisers quickly organised mobile teams of police and support vehicles in an attempt to deliver water to those who missed out.
Neil Kilgour, Race Director of Edinburgh Marathon, commented;
“We are furious that someone would steal water and energy gels from marathon runners on a hot day but unfortunately that is the case. It did leave us with problems which we unreservedly apologise for but I believe we did everything we could to mitigate the problem.
“When it became apparent that the water supply was getting low at water station 6 we moved water from water station 7 across the road to water station 6. We also activated our distribution company who had picked up the surplus water at water station 2 (the 5.5 mile mark on Portobello Prom) and moved it to water stations 6 and 7 between Lyars Roads and Gosford House. Water was moved under police escort to get it to the stations as quickly as possible. The marathon distribution company collected around 10,000 bottles of water from other water stations at the end of the event”.
“In collaboration with the police and emergency services we set up mobile water stations for people that missed the water at these stations and we wish to express our gratitude for their support in trying circumstances. The length of time we were without water at these two locations was 40 minutes”.
Geoff Sims, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Marathon Ltd announced a £5,000 reward to anyone that gives information to police that leads to a conviction. Geoff Sims went on to say; the marathon staff spend the best part of a whole year planning a race with the aim that every runner will leave Edinburgh having had a great experience and were devastated to hear that some water stations had run out of water. Most of all our sincere apologies to all the runners that were adversely affected. We will of course be increasing our security measures in future years to ensure that this never happens again”.
Those with information should call the Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131 with incident reference number 454 dated the 02/06/09.
Geoff Sims – Chief Executive
Neil Kilgour – Race Director
Caroline Vevers – Event Director
Damien O'Looney - Marketing Director
Date of review: June 2, 2009
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