My Event Ratings

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

In short: Great race, however, organisation for start needs to improve
In full: Great race, scenery, challenge, water/energy stations, cool t-shirt and medal, wonderful fair at end with stovies and oatcakes free to runners! Lots of real pluses. Hence, a shame that the organisers had absolutely no toilets available by the buses at the departure point. This was followed by a two hour sit on the buses. On arrival at the start a hopelessly inadeaqate amount of toilets and a huge rush to start due to late arrival of busses. Ok for us guys who turned their backs and had a quick pee in the heather. However, it is a failure of the organsisers to force women into the embarrassing and degrading situation of having to pee in public at the side of the road as they are so desperate. This neednt have been the case with better foresight and planning. If the organisers sharpened their act in this area it would be a truly suberb event!
Date of review: October 4, 2011

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

In short: An embarrassment to the city and Scotland
In full: This was my third time running the Edinburgh marathon, having done so in 2009 and 2010. These two races were beset with significant organisational problems which had been pointed out at length to the organisers, via this web site and direct by many furious and disappointed runners. Judging by yesterday's fiasco, this feedback has been ignored.

Pre-race we were not even sent a leaflet in the post regarding the event. Rather you had to download a .pdf and print out along with your bus ticket.

Having experience the post-race chaos before, i didn't trust GSI events assurances that it would be all sorted out for 2011. Hence, I drove to Mussleburgh, parked my car in a local residential estate and got a taxi to the start point. The start of the race was fine to be honest. No real problems, yet.

The course is dull. In a city with some of the best and most inspiring architecture and scenery in Europe to be missing it and heading to a monotonous coastal road beggars belief. What lack of ambition from the organisers!

That said, a flat course for those seeking a PB.

I saw only a few mile markers, however, thankfully plenty of water (those running in the drought stricken 2009 event would have been relieved to see that!).

To the finish. Inexplicably, the event did not have the granstand end at the race course (one of the few accepted positives of previous races). Rather, in an unispiring fashion on a public road. We were then left to turn up a narrow, residential side street to face a blockage of hundreds of tired runners queing for medals, teeshirts and goody bags. All giving out separately. My medal has no year on it, there is no mention of the marathon other than on the ribbon, along with half-marathon, 10 and 5k. Hence, those running 5k appear to receive the same medal as those running a gruelling 26.2 miles. Fair?

The tee-shirt pick up area was bedlam. After queing for about 20 mins I was met with the sight of a a handfull of school childern grappling with distribution of tshirts. There was absoluetly no organisation. The poor kids were doing their best but were opening boxes of half-marathon tee-shirts and handing them out to those that had run the full. Tshirts being given out one by one as hundreds waited behind. It was so obvious that distibutions in such a narrow side street would never work. Especially, when it was no where near properly staffed.

Then we were faced with the site ahead of one narrow gate and a football terrace style crush towards it. From a health and safety perspecitive this was dangerouse. Myself and many others clambered over an area of bushes to break free from the crowd. I never did see the area with screen and beer tent. No signs!

I was so glad to have parked nearby when I saw again for the second year there was a long, long uphill walk for buses at Wallyford. How crazy is that! You wonder if the organisers have ever ran a marathon before!

Please can the organisers have some ambition and LISTEN to the feedback of the runners. I would not recommend running this race until the organisers make significant changes. It really is an embarrassment to the city. With some simple changes it could be one of the best events in the country.
Date of review: May 23, 2011

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