Paris or Edinburgh?

Which marathon is better and why??

scenic, atmospheric, crowd support, lovely city, and maybe a PB

Don't do Edinburgh then! The course doesn't go through the city, instead it takes you along the seafront and out of the city into East Lothian and the crowds are fairly thin however the course is flat. 

Yeah, you don't really see the city at all in Edinburgh after the first couple of miles. But it's the best PB marathon in the UK - officially! I actually liked it for the lack of crowds and thought the run down the coast was lovely. But running towards the turnaround point and seing all the faster people running back past you, that was rather dispiriting...

Paris Paris Paris...lining up on the Champs Elysees with the Arc behind you, Chariots of Fire playing on the PA, The Louvre, the Seine, The Eiffel Tower, the Metro, The tiny hotel rooms with cardboard walls,  the clean streets, the restaurants, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, St Denis. The race is crowded, especially the food stations which are like small markets, but if you want a "destination" there's no contest.

Paris is one of the best marathons I've ran, Edinburgh is by far the worst marathon I've ran. In fact of all the marathons I've ran Edinburgh is the only one I'd never do again. Paris wins by a very long shot between those races.

Both are good PB potential courses. Paris has far more interesting course and far better crowd support. It's also ran in the city it's named after! The Edinburgh marathon starts there but after the first few miles you never see the city again. I also found the organisation at Edinburgh to be pretty appalling. It felt like they where after your money and that's all.

Mr Puffy wrote (see)

Paris Paris Paris...lining up on the Champs Elysees with the Arc behind you, Chariots of Fire playing on the PA, The Louvre, the Seine, The Eiffel Tower, the Metro, The tiny hotel rooms with cardboard walls,  the clean streets, the restaurants, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, St Denis. The race is crowded, especially the food stations which are like small markets, but if you want a "destination" there's no contest.

and this is the reason that i'm running Paris next year... that and the thread is absolutely fantastic!

laura watson 10 wrote (see)

scenic, atmospheric, crowd support, lovely city, and maybe a PB

 

Why do you limit yourself to Paris or Edinburgh? I presume you're looking for spring marathons giving that timeline but what about:

28. April: Duesseldorf - flat, easy to get to, great city and support.
17. March: Barcelona - likely to be warmer, interesting course
14. April: Rotterdam - flat, PB potential, support but can be windy.
22. April (i think): Antwerp - flat, great crowd support, lovely city but does have some cobbles if I remember correctly, easy to get to from UK (eurostar or flying)

great advices thanks, paris seems like a winner...  

cobbles in paris??

my fast brother is doing paris so that probably seals it...  i like the sound of barcelona too...  

also "about" to sign up for thames trot 50 miler in early feb which would be my first ultra - maybe a bit ambitious but hey you only live once

Edinburgh this year was well organised, I think they have listened to feedback from previous years.  It was incredibly hot that day and the local people in the towns/village we ran through were absolutely fantastic.  I personallly like seeing the faster athletes before I turn around and I also enjoyed the scenery both in and out of the city.  The only draw back with Edinburgh was the gravel track in the woods around mile 20, that was evil!

Laura - There's a small cobbled section, but the cobbles are fine to run on. I never really noticed them to be honest. The water/feed stations with litter thrown about them made for more treacherous running!

Emmy_H wrote (see)

Mr Puffy wrote (see)

Paris Paris Paris...lining up on the Champs Elysees with the Arc behind you, Chariots of Fire playing on the PA, The Louvre, the Seine, The Eiffel Tower, the Metro, The tiny hotel rooms with cardboard walls,  the clean streets, the restaurants, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, St Denis. The race is crowded, especially the food stations which are like small markets, but if you want a "destination" there's no contest.

and this is the reason that i'm running Paris next year... that and the thread is absolutely fantastic!

Meeting up with the other threaders the night before for a meal was great, and then under the Arc early  the next morning was really special.