Edinburgh MarathonHere's how RW members rated this race (1467 votes). 2011 race reviewed by: chris cripps
 | | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Good race let down by the poor organisation at the finish
In full: The start was really well organised and the race itself was nice the water stops where brilliantly manned but the finish was a dissapointment reunoin signs need to be higher and better spaced as well as better marked(i walked round all the tents and charity area before locating them) as others have said tho great potential to be a fantastic race if the finish can be organised better.
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: kenny_yan
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: When they master the basics they may have a decent event on their hands, but until that happens it will be widely considered to be a shambles.
In full: Terrible transport back to Edinburgh.
Half Marathon T Shirts instead of Full ones.
Supporters stopped from gathering at the finish line to cheer runners home.
No big screen coverage of finish for spectators as promised.
I'll probably do it again, but only because it's my closest marathon event - I certainly wouldn't be going out of my way to willingly repeat this fiasco otherwise.
They really need to think about changing the finish to Edinburgh.
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by:
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: as long as you send me a t shirt i will give this race a good review-
In full: only a couple of criticisisms for me . the rest was good :-) please edinburgh marathon send me a full marathon t shirt - i ran it - i paid for it- now send me 1- you ran out !!!:-(
also your medal was horrid.
apart from that i loved this race . thank you
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Murray Robertson
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: A total shambles.
In full: This was my eight consecutive Edinburgh Marathon and will probably be my last. On a positive note, the start was well-organised and the water station helpers and wardens did a grand job. Support is always good, even though the route goes pretty far off the beaten track.
I'm getting pretty bored of this East Lothian Marathon route, particularly the pointless trek on loose gravel around Gosford House. The first few marathons actually ran around Edinburgh. I understand the council have issues with this but to call it the Edinburgh Marathon is disingenuous and this route really needs to be reconsidered, particularly the constant disheartening loops back on ourselves.
However, the finish line was diabolical. After standing still in a confused queue for half an hour (as my muscles seized up; nice) a medal was shoved at me and I managed to claw a "goody bag". The medal is appalling; a job-lot that doesn't even have the year printed (all my other medals had the decency to do that, so at least I can work it out by process of elimination). I then had to proceed another mile and half through a massive queue trying to squeeze through a gap before following the crowds (not the signs, there were none) to the "reunion area" which naturally was located way past all the sponsors and food areas, at the furthest possible point.
It also seems I was given the relay/half marathon t-shirt and medal. I notice the website now says that if I picked up the wrong medal or t-shirt I can send it back with a SAE (with sufficient postage, although there's no mention of how much that is) for a replacement, if they have stock left. Unfortunately, I didn't "pick up" the wrong stuff; I took what I was given and had paid for in good faith. I've asked them to send me the proper medal and t-shirt and asked them to enclose a SAE for me to return this wrong stuff.
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: TRACEY DOUGLAS 2
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Ok route, poor finish, even poorer reunion area!
In full: I ran the half marathon and the finish was even chaotic when I finished at 9.37am!
I only noticed after the event that I received a marathon t-shirt rather than a half marathon t-shirt! I notice that there are some people who ran the full marathon who only received a half-marathon t-shirt. If anyone has a size small half-marathon t-shirt they want to swap for a full marathon size small, give me a shout!
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Mike Malcolm-smith
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Good Race- Poor Organisation espically at finish
In full: 1st problem late changes to course. 2nd Problem poor pre race information caused by 1st problem.Good start , good course (shame about wind). Final problem v poor finish and organisation at reunion area. Maybe the organisers should concentrate on the race/ marathon rather than organising comedy evening!
They also succeeded in upsetting a lot of locals.
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Kenneth Canavan
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 40% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Started well but all downhill from there.
In full: I entered the Edinburgh Marathon, not the tour de East Lothian, yet we ran straight out of Edinburgh and didn't come back. Edinburgh is a beautiful city to experience on foot. The Moonwalk passes many city landmarks, which adds to the sense of occasion, so it can be done.
Similarly, whilst organisers have no control over the weather, routing the course along an exposed coastline exacerbates the effect of the already strong wind. A circular route within the city would have been far more sheltered. If I want a trip to watch kites on a windswept beach or a tour of Cockenzie power station, I'll arrange it myself.
Water and fuel stations were very well staffed and well placed. Thankyou to the volunteers.
In this day of GPS and computerised mapping do we still need out & backs and cone turns to accurately plot the distance? Bad for the knees and morale. Again, an urban route has more junctions to tailor the distance to suit without the need for turning sharply or doubling back.
I missed quite a few mile markers so couldn't monitor my pace. Those that were visible resembled traffic signs. They need to be large, fluorescent and on both sides of the road if tired runners are going to see them.
The running surface in the grounds of the country house was broken, uneven and potholed in places.
Participants train for months for an event such as this. Many bring family and friends to cheer them on. Their reward was limited access in the latter stages of the course and complete segregation at the finish line. Who on earth decided that this was a good idea?
The loneliness of the finish line was soon replaced by the utter chaos round the corner. Event planning requires an appreciation of crowd dynamics. Funnelling thousands of tired runners into a narrow residential street is never a good idea in any circumstance. Multiple queues for medals, goodie bags, then T shirts smacked of disorganisation. Placing the medal and T shirt in the bag, clearly marked with the T shirt size, would have hastened throughput and eased congestion. How could emf run out of L and XL T shirts so early on when participants submitted their size requirements at the time of application?
Channelling further down this narrow street, we were reunited with our bags, many of which were lying in puddles beside the trucks. Soggy change kit for the journey home, nice!
Once out of the frankly tiny gap at the end of the street, it was a considerable walk to the reunion area. Apparently it did have alphabetical reunion markers but they couldn't be seen as they were low down and masked by people standing beside them. Take a tip from the GSR and stick them on poles well above head height.
Participants leaving the reunion area with their supporters for buses had to retrace their steps against the flow of those still heading for the reunion area. All were corralled by barriers and marshals onto a narrow footpath, causing significant congestion.
The route to the bus terminus was well marked. Alas it had to be given the distance involved. The queue for shuttle buses stretched to the top of the hill on the outskirts of town. Fortunately it moved quickly, so well done to the marshals involved.
It is clear that this event needs a significant rethink. Route choice was flawed for the reasons outlined above. Most significantly, whilst the start was relatively close to Edinburgh's transport hubs, the finish area was miles out of town and entirely unfit for purpose. Mass participation events need space to operate safely and efficiently. Similar events such as Pedal for Scotland, the Moonwalk and Great Scottish Run all start and finish in large public parks with ample space for organisers, participants, supporters, charities, media, emergency services, catering, toilets, reunions, bag storage /uplift and transport. Sadly, emf need to look long and hard at how they configure next year's event or runners will stay away. Given that this marathon is the biggest outside London and has the potential to be truly enjoyable, that would be a real shame. Let's hope they can sort it out.
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Helen Munro
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Another GSI Fiasco!
In full: having been a spectator at 3 of these events and endured the 2010 fiasco with relay buses being late bringing runners to changeovers and the interminable queues for buses home, I decided to run this year - fitting to achieve my 10th marathon at home...
Most of my comments have already been mentioned by other runners, and I'll start with the positives:
Good start area, clearly signed plenty loos, good MC on radio keeping people going, places to shelter from rain, baggage trucks good, corral marking clear, good place to start in City. On course support - well done to those who braved the elements it's hugely appreciated! Well done to the water station staff etc plentiful supplies and support from folk who must have been pretty cold/wet at times.
However...the finish organisation is Diabolical! We never found out why it was changed from the Racecourse, a wee note on the website would have been helpful. Some people didn't even know on the Sunday morning it had been changed and were expecting to meet friends in Racecourse. Finish line I got some support from folks who'd decided to ignore the rules and come along anyway to them THANK YOU!! Then to have to walk what seemed like forever to get a pretty shabby medal, a goody bag not worthy of note and then to top it off NO finishers T shirt was to say the least disappointing :-(
We went to 10k on Saturday to watch a friend finish her first ever race and were impressed by the finish area, why couldn't we have had the same? Why can't we have an out and back route from Holyrood Park? A friend flew in from Canada specially for this race imagine how disappointed he was? Again no T shirt for him... for goodness sake, we have to preorder them and the size is printed on the number, why not have them in the goody bag and the bags stacked by size?
COME ON GSI it's not rocket science it's simple organisation!! We have other friends planning to come from Canada next year and I have already told them not to bother, it's a rip off for UK runners it's even more of a rip off for overseas runners who have to pay £75 for the privilege(?) and can't even take home a Tshirt and decent medal for their efforts.
Glad I finished my 10th marathon, glad I got a PB despite the hellish winds, but no thanks to GSI Events.
I feel really let down and disheartened and won't be supporting anything organised by them in the future. I also feel ashamed that all the runners who travelled a lot further than I had to were so let down by the parking and bussing debacles. What a lasting impression they must have - pity it isn't a good one!
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Laura Millard
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: desolate second half with bad finishing organisation
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: AlAt
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Terrible organisation for supporters
In full: The run was well organised. BUT the transport to and from the event for supporters was ABYSMAL. They banished supporters from the Finish area by trying to substitute a big screen telly - which didn't work.
Stroke genius - sheer genius!!
Date of review: May 24, 2011
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