My Event Ratings

Overall score		100%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		80%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		80%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: A really good half marathon
In full: Really nice course, much of it is along the river Ness with a few miles in residential streets. You also get to run through the centre of Inverness for a stretch. The finish was in an athletics stadium which was a nice touch. Organisation is good, easy to get parked and the later start time presumably helps the many people who travel to do this.

Would definitely do this again and am glad we planned a weekend around it. It has all the benefits of a big city race but none of the hassles and some nice scenery. Good atmosphere on the day and a lot of support.
Date of review: March 12, 2012

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Overall score		40%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		40%
Organisation		20%
Value		20%
Beginner-friendliness		40%

In short: Bring back the Glasgow Marathon!
In full: I only did the relay but was really there to support my wife who did the full 26.2. Having just done London the bad organisation of this stood out. Fair enough, the organisers couldn't arrange the weather but that's about all you could say in their defence.

Edinburgh needs to decide if it wants to host a proper marathon and realistic alternative to London or host the start of an ineptly run East Lothian road race or relay event that isn't really scalable beyond 5,000 runners. If the former, they should do it properly, take in some city scenery and have it finish in a park with a proper finish area. They can close off huge parts of the city centre for months on end for tram works so why not for 7 hours one Sunday for a marathon?

The racecourse was off-limits because of the meet on Friday night, I'm guessing. Fair enough - go somewhere else then, not across the road! Instead, they had a finish funnel in a small residential street - substitute the Mall for a side street in Greenwich if you want to make the comparison. The main reunion area was miles away from the finish, accessible via one narrow entrance and a big screen showing last year's T in the Park with the sound off!

As a spectator it was almost impossible to get anywhere near the finish line coming from the west, yet on trying to find the reunion area I could enter and walk through the finish funnel and was even offered a medal! Not having enough T-shirts for everyone at the finish was shameful. What are they paying for?

Fortunately having been at the event before I ignored the advice to rely on bus services and came by car but not everyone would have had that option.

It was obvious people came far and wide to do the race, a great effort by those who finished and a real shame if they left disappointed. Come on Scotland we can do better than this!
Date of review: May 23, 2011

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		80%
Value		100%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Big-race organisation, small-race atmosphere!
In full: A very good and well-organised race. If you know Clackmannanshire you'll realise it's a mix of the scenic and the less so - the course reflects that. It has one hill and a few other sections which are at the outer limits of 'undulating' but got a PB anyway so can't complain! Organisation for a race of this scale was impeccable and it offered very good value for money. The water stations were well-stocked (after Edinburgh last year feels worth giving credit for this!) and well-spaced. Collecting numbers and chips on the day was easy, they seemed able to accommodate on-the-day registrants and the leisure centre looked a good base for supporters as they had catering and entertainment laid on.

Traffic management in places depended more on the good sense of the locals than roads that were actually closed but there seemed to be no problems.
Date of review: March 22, 2010

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Overall score		100%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		80%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		100%
Organisation		100%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		100%

In short: Excellent Race
In full: If anything, the problem with this is that it's too well-run. Everyone who does it wants to do it again so it gets bigger and bigger every year. The organisation is well-drilled and faultless. It starts on time, there are no queues at the finish and the T-shirts, medals and goodie bags are worth it. Any forms of criticism at all are nit-picking but as this is a review……

-the numbers running the race means the course is a bit tight at places near the start - particularly leading to the Kingston Bridge on-ramps so maybe some tweaks to the course should be considered, it didn't seem nearly as bad last year when there was 2 miles prior to the motorway section.

-as the race attracts loads of first-timers so info on basic running etiquette in the pre-race pack (which is otherwise very useful) might be useful. Especially the polite point that if you can't run more than 2k you shouldn't start with the elite runners or walk 3 abreast with your mates past the 1k mark!

Overall, though, it's a great day out.
Date of review: September 9, 2009

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		40%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		100%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Well-organised race if not too flat
In full: This race is very well organised though is primarily a 10k with a minority of runners doing the half marathon. It does take place in East Kilbride, so you cannot expect scenic beauty but rather roundabouts and underpasses. The route consists of two 5-mile laps of east kilbride town centre with bits added on to augment the distance. The first loop is quite congested with all the 10 runners, after that it spreads out drastically. While there are no steep hills en route there are long gentle climbs.

Nice atmosphere, even though the nature of the route means there is minimal on-course support though. Good water availability and Diet Coke seem to support it quite enthusiastically - the brass bands in delivery trucks was a nice touch.

Good t-shirt though I'd have preferred a medal to a tombstone. Also it's quite rare for a race of this size to post out t-shirts and chips so good effort there. I also found the 'stop smoking' leaflet in the goodie bag amusing - then I saw a finisher sparking up a Marlboro Red just over the line! Only in Scotland......
Date of review: June 22, 2009

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		40%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: Friendly (if amateurish) organisation and a nice day out
In full: I did this as a preview for the Edinburgh Marathon. The start was a bit of a shambles, as was the finish, but nothing that a bit of good humour couldn't laugh off. I didn't have too many hassles getting my race number and chip at the start though agree with others that these should have been posted out in advance.

Overall it was a nice course - a lot less boring than the 26.2 mile route and an agreeable day out for my supporters. No shortage of water and the locals turned out to cheer us on which was nice.

Lastly, I left it late to get into the race and in fact the organiser phoned me personally in response to an email I'd sent the site to make sure I got a place - thank you!
Date of review: June 1, 2009

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Overall score		40%
Would you do it again?		Maybe
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		20%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Nice day out, ineptly organised
In full: This was my first marathon and I finished in 4hr 51 which I was pleased with. The lack of water was a disgrace and lots of people had to give up and walk. While perhaps unusual for Edinburgh, the hot weather was well-forecasted and more supplies should have been made available.

I guess it depends what you're used to but having spent my life wandering round small Scottish coastal towns I thought the course was quite dull, very little of it is actually in Edinburgh and most people will have seen more of the city walking to the start than at any point during the race. The excessive reliance on shuttle buses to get around didn't look like fun though I had a car available.

The organiser was interviewed in the Scottish press last week and cheerfully admitted he'd never run a marathon. You could tell.

Credit to the locals though who turned out in force to support it and even set up impromptu water stations.

Lastly, someone should have shut that guy up at the start line. Most people running a marathon want to relax and prepare themselves, not holler moronically like a crowd at a Big Brother eviction night.
Date of review: June 1, 2009

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