Edinburgh Marathon '25 Race Report

I went into this marathon expecting - if I was lucky - to run around 3 hours and 5 minutes. I’d trained for a 3-hour finish, but the build-up hadn’t gone perfectly. My gut feeling was that I was capable of running at about 4:20/km pace, not the 4:15/km required for a sub-3. The forecast didn’t help either: gusting to gale-force winds, especially over the final miles, made chasing a sub-3 feel unrealistic.

The race starts in the heart of the beautiful city of Edinburgh. It’s a well-organised, relatively calm event – around 10,000 runners, which gives it a great sense of occasion without becoming overwhelming like one of the majors. The first 9km of the course are downhill, with a net drop of roughly 90m. That gives you a conundrum straight away: do you bank time early, or hold back to conserve energy?

I probably overcooked the steeper sections slightly and eased off on the shallower descents, but still averaged 4:15/km for the first 10K. Once we hit the flat coastal roads, I settled into a 4:13–4:14/km rhythm, which might have been a little ambitious - though we did have a tailwind at that point. As soon as we turned at the 30km mark, the wheels started to come off, as expected. Whether it was the wall, general fatigue, or the now head-on winds, I logged four kilometres around 4:45/km before clawing it back to something closer to 4:20/km for the final stretch.

We’d had sunshine, wind, and even a bit of rain by the time I crossed the line in 3:03:38. All in all, I was very pleased. That time reflects exactly where I felt I was given my training. The sun was out as I collected my bag and sat in the field with the other finishers, most of whom were swapping stories about how the wind in those final miles had wrecked their pacing plans.

A friend came to meet me, and just as she arrived, the heavens opened in true Scottish style – torrential rain and hail. I spared a thought for the runners still out there. On the bus home, we got the full four-seasons-in-an-hour experience: rain, sunshine, wind, everything.

Later, I checked the official results and discovered I’d finished 4th in my age group – something I’d never even thought to look for in past races. That meant a lot. Edinburgh is a stunning city, the crowd support was enthusiastic and warm, and the event had a really friendly atmosphere. If you’re willing to roll the dice on the weather, it’s definitely one to add to your list.

For me though, there is unfinished business here: As Faye put it "sub-3 is now within kissing distance", and I'm off to book my next marathon to test that, just as soon as I hit "publish" on this post...