Edinburgh Marathon
| Edinburgh Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Date | May |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Marathon, Half marathon, 10K, 5K |
| Established | 2003 |
| Official site | edinburgh-marathon.com |
The first mass Edinburgh Marathon was held in 1983, starting in Hollyrood Park and running through the Grassmarket and down Lothian Road, along Princes Street and down into Leith, along to Cramond and along the coast back through Silvernowes to Leith, upEaster Road and finishing in Meadobank Stadium.
The Edinburgh Marathon Festival has been held each year in Edinburgh, Scotland since 2003, usually in May. It is run over the traditional distance of 42.195 kilometres (26.219 mi).
History
The Edinburgh Marathon Festival was founded by Geoff Sims and the first year’s event on June 15, 2003, attracted just 3,000 participants. The course started at Meadowbank Stadium, taking in Princes Street, Holyrood Palace and the Royal Yacht Britannia. Frank McGowan from Glasgow won the men’s race in 2.35 with the slowest man Lloyd Stott taking more than six days to complete the race wearing a deep sea diving suit weighing more than 100 pounds.
In 2007 organisers designed a new route that headed in to East Lothian through Longniddry and Port Seton, finishing in Musselburgh race course. With an elevation drop of 40 metres, the average finish time was almost 12 minutes faster than previous year's and Edinburgh earned its title of UK’s fastest marathon.
In 2010, the half marathon was introduced for the first time with entry levels jumping to more than 24,000.
2011 was the first time the Edinburgh Marathon Festival was hosted over two days. As well as the full marathon, the festival also included a 5K, 10K, two junior races and a half marathon and a team relay race, affectionately named the “Hairy Haggis.”
Men's winners
| Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h:m:s) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | McGowan, FrankFrank McGowan |  United Kingdom |
2:35:21 | |
| 2004 | Mutai, JohnJohn Mutai |  Kenya |
2:21:45 | |
| 2005 | Kihara, ZacharyZachary Kihara | Kenya |
2:15:26 | Course record |
| 2006 | Mbithi, JosephJoseph Mbithi | Kenya |
2:15:46 | |
| 2007 | Grime, IanIan Grime | United Kingdom |
2:31:57 | |
| 2008 | MacNamara, PaulPaul MacNamara |  Ireland |
2:25:05 | |
| 2009 | Williams, MartinMartin Williams | United Kingdom |
2:18:24 | |
| 2010 | Littler, SteveSteve Littler | United Kingdom |
2:26:31 | |
| 2011 | Nicholls, PhilPhil Nicholls | United Kingdom |
2:19:21 | |
| 2012 | Mutai, JohnJohn Mutai | Kenya |
2:19:52 | |
| 2013[1] | Lema, TolaTola Lema |  Ethiopia |
2:15:32 |
Women's winners
| Year | Athlete | Nationality | Time (h:m:s) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | McCallum, MichaelaMichaela McCallum | United Kingdom |
2:48:06 | |
| 2004 | Poltawskaja, WalentinaWalentina Poltawskaja |  Ukraine |
2:47:24 | |
| 2005 | Semjonowa, SinaidaSinaida Semjonowa |  Russia |
2:33:36 | Course record |
| 2006 | Howe, AngelaAngela Howe | United Kingdom |
2:51:41 | |
| 2007 | Matheson, FionaFiona Matheson | United Kingdom |
2:54:43 | |
| 2008 | Powell, PaulinePauline Powell | United Kingdom |
2:47:56 | |
| 2009 | Rush, HollyHolly Rush | United Kingdom |
2:41:38 | |
| 2010 | Gee, SarahSarah Gee | United Kingdom |
2:38:16 | |
| 2011 | Harris, SarahSarah Harris | United Kingdom |
2:42:59 | |
| 2012 | Lehonkova, NataliaNatalia Lehonkova | Ukraine |
2:39:48 | |
| 2013 | Kimaiyo, RisperRisper Kimaiyo | Kenya |
2:35:58 |
Criticism
The Edinburgh Marathon is often criticised for the complex logistics involved for both runners and spectators, as the course's layout necessitates travel between Edinburgh city centre and East Lothian. Due to road closures and infrequent train services, there are often bottlenecks of traffic and long delays. Although shuttle buses are provided, many runners struggle with the long walk to the pick-up point after their race.
Additionally, whilst the race starts in Edinburgh, less than eight miles of the course lie within the city boundaries, with the remainder being run in East Lothian. The course encompasses less than three miles of the city centre.
References
- ↑ Minshull, Phil (2013-05-26). Lema and Kimaiyo take the honours at the Edinburgh Marathon. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-05-31.