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Name
of Race: Edinburgh Meadows Marathon
Location:
Edinburgh
Distance: 26.2
miles
Month Held:
March
Number of
Participants: New 2012 -
NOTE: There is a 4 hour cuttoff.
Organisers state, "We are only opening the marathon up for serious runners
this year . . . if you have not finished by this time (4 hours) we will have
to ask you to surrender your running number."
Pity! - Having
completed 15 marathons and 10 Ultra marathons, I certainly consider myself to be a 'serious
runner' even though I sometimes take more than 4 hours to complete a
marathon.
Website:
Edinburgh Meadows Marathon
Information:
(From the official website)
Is the Meadows Marathon really a marathon?
Yes! This year we have added a marathon to our half marathon and 5k events.
This means the 5k will be more like 5.6k (we're calling it a Fun Run now).
To make things more fun, the full and half marathon will start
simultaneously, so if your friend wants to do the full marathon but you only
fancy the half, then you can run together. The Fun Run will take place
beforehand.
A marathon! Do we run all over the city?
No you lucky thing, we have much better plans than that. The beauty of the
Meadows Marathon is that you run it as laps of the Meadows, rather than one
long linear route.
Oh. Why would I want to run around the Meadows a bunch of times?
I’m glad you asked. The Meadows Marathon’s circuitous nature is part of its
appeal. You are never far from a first aid station or a water station,
spectators cheer on runners throughout the race rather than just at one
point, and we get musicians and performers to provide entertainment around
the course, lending a carnival atmosphere to the event. It also means that
we can put on the event at a relatively lower cost than other runs of a
similar distance, meaning a lower registration cost to you, and therefore
more money to charity at the end of the day.
But don’t you have to be in great shape to take part? I don’t want to look
foolish, trailing behind everyone else…
The Meadows Marathon is open to anyone who can make it around the course.
Our runners are very diverse; we have some experienced runners who like to
hurtle round the half marathon in a little over an hour, less accomplished
runners trying to see if they can go the distance, and some people who like
to jog and walk round with their friends. Of course, fancy dress is always
encouraged, which doubles as a sure-fire way to get encouragement from
strangers in the crowd as well as providing an excuse for taking it easy
(“Of course I had to walk most of it – I was dressed as a centurion!”). If
you’re really worried that the half marathon may be a step too far (pun
intended) then why not try the Fun Run, you can always try the half marathon
next year.
Edinburgh Meadows
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