Edinburgh Marathon Festival

Start line: Our Dynamic Earth, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AS

Marathon:

Starting on Potterrow in the grounds of one of the oldest Universities in the world, this incredible city centre start takes you through the very heart of Edinburgh. As you pass Greyfriars Bobby on your left, you also take in the National Museum of Scotland on your right, before heading over the High Street and down The Mound. Don’t be surprised if you see a few shoppers stop and cheer as you then run past the Scottish National Gallery and into Princes Street Gardens, with the iconic Edinburgh Castle as your backdrop.

The route then takes in the ‘Gothic Rocket’, otherwise known as the Scott Monument, as it meanders down the historic Royal Mile, heading towards and past the somewhat controversial Scottish Parliament building. Here you can look up and take in the spectacular Arthurs Seat & Salisbury Crags, as well as the Palace of Holyrood, before departing the Royal Park and heading east towards the coast. As you reach Musselburgh, you’ll run past the oldest golf course in the world, where it’s documented that golf has been played as early as 1672, before heading further East on the flat to Gosford House, an imposing neo-classical mansion which was one of the last great architectural commissions of the celebrated Scots architect, Robert Adam.

As you turn and head back along the coast, you’ll see the beautiful finish line ahead, one of the greatest sights for any marathon runner! With a descent of almost 90 metres to near sea level, we believe that this is the fastest marathon route in the world.

Half Marathon
Starting on Potterrow in the grounds of one of the oldest Universities in the world, this incredible city centre start takes you through the very heart of Edinburgh. As you pass Greyfriars Bobby on your left, you also take in the National Museum of Scotland on your right, before heading over the High Street and down The Mound. Don’t be surprised if you see a few shoppers stop and cheer as you then run past the Scottish National Gallery and into Princes Street Gardens, with the iconic Edinburgh Castle as your backdrop.

The route then takes in the ‘Gothic Rocket’, otherwise known as the Scott Monument, as it meanders down the historic Royal Mile, heading towards and past the somewhat controversial Scottish Parliament building. Here you can look up and take in the spectacular Arthurs Seat & Salisbury Crags, as well as the Palace of Holyrood, before departing the Royal Park and heading east towards the coast.

As you reach Musselburgh, you’ll run past the oldest golf course in the world, where it’s documented that golf has been played as early as 1672, before heading further East on the flat towards the historic village of Preston Pans before turning and heading back towards the beautiful finish line within the vast playing fields of Pinkie School.

With a descent of almost 90 metres to near sea level, we believe this is the fastest half marathon route in the world.

Marathon Relay:

The EMF Hairy Haggis Team Relay is an opportunity for a team of 4 runners to take part in the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. The 26.2 miles is split into 4 legs, each runner will run one leg. The approximate distance of each leg is shown below:

Leg 1: The Royal Leg – 8.3 miles: Starting on Potterrow in the grounds of one of the oldest Universities in the world, this incredible city centre start takes you through the very heart of Edinburgh. As you pass Greyfriars Bobby on your left, you also take in the National Museum of Scotland on your right, before heading over the High Street and down The Mound. Don’t be surprised if you see a few shoppers stop and cheer as you then run past the Scottish National Gallery and into Princes Street Gardens, with the iconic Edinburgh Castle as your backdrop.

The route then takes in the ‘Gothic Rocket’, otherwise known as the Scott Monument, as it meanders down the historic Royal Mile, heading towards and past the somewhat controversial Scottish Parliament building. Here you can look up and take in the spectacular Arthurs Seat & Salisbury Crags, as well as the Palace of Holyrood, before departing the Royal Park and heading east towards the coast where runners reach the first relay changeover at Fisherrow Links, Musselburgh.

Leg 2: The Cock & Pan Leg – 5.5 miles: The route then crosses the River Esk and past Musselburgh Racecourse and then continues beyond Prestongrange Mining Museum, Prestonpans, the site of the 1745 Battle of Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton where reaching the second relay changeover at Port Seton Links.

Leg 3: The Gosford Leg – 8 miles: It then races on to picturesque East Lothian, along Scotland’s golf coast which boasts 22 courses including some of the world’s oldest and most admired like North Berwick, Gullane and Muirfield. The route passes the village of Longniddry then enters the grounds of Gosford House before looping around and heading back to Port Seton and the final relay changeover.

Leg 4: The Glory Leg – 4.4 miles: Now in the home straight the route passes through Port Seton, Cockenzie and Prestonpans back past Musselburgh Links, the famous golf course officially recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest golf course in the world. The marathon finishes in playing fields at Pinkie St Peter’s Primary School. Well done hairies!

10K:

Starting and finishing near the EMF Hub at Dynamic Earth, this beautiful, scenic route takes place in Holyrood Park in the heart of Edinburgh. The route offers stunning views of Edinburgh Castle and panoramic views of the city.

Runners start on Queens Drive with a 200m downhill section before heading past the steep sides of Arthurs Seat on your right and Dynamic Earth, The Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace on your left. Continuing on towards the 1km mark you will pass St. Margaret’s Loch before starting the ascent around the east side of Arthurs Seat. As you continue the clockwise route around this famous old volcano, you will pass Dunsapie Loch at around 2.5km. Now on the far side of Arthur’s seat at 3km runners can enjoy spectacular views of Duddingston Loch below and across the southside of Edinburgh and beyond towards the Pentland Hills. Approaching the 4km marker you will enjoy a panoramic view of the City. The route then doubles back on itself along Duddingston Low Road at 5km and through Duddingston Village at 6km. The route joins the Innocent Railway Road through 7km and 8km and then heads back up onto Queens Drive. Passing the 9km it’s now downhill all the way, back through the Start Line again and the final 250m dash to the cheering crowds and the finish line on Holyrood Gait.

5K:

Starting and finishing near EMF Hub at Dynamic Earth, this beautiful scenic route takes you around Holyrood Park in the heart of Edinburgh. The route offers stunning views of Edinburgh Castle and panoramic views of the city. Runners start on Queens Drive and after 0.5km the route passes St. Margaret’s Loch before starting the ascent around the east side of Arthur’s Seat before you pass Dunsapie Loch at around 2k. On the far side of Arthur’s seat and approaching the halfway point, runners can enjoy spectacular views of Duddingston Loch below and across the southside of Edinburgh and beyond towards the Pentland Hills with the knowledge that the rest of the route is flat and downhill! As the route continues down the West Side of this famous old volcano you can enjoy the views of the steep slopes on your right and in the distance the cheering masses at the final turn. The last 250m section runs back through the Start Line and then turns left onto Holyrood Gait and the Finish Line.