Edinburgh Marathon Festival

Launched in 2003, the Edinburgh Marathon is the second largest marathon in the UK. The marathon has forked out into several running events that attract in the region of 26,000 entrants for several long-distance runs over the course of the weekend under the banner the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.

The Edinburgh marathon is held on Sunday. Thousands of marathon runners will hit the tarmac around Edinburgh, jogging the 26 mile (42 km) circuit through Edinburgh's Old Town, Holyrood Park and out to the typically breezy, East Lothian coast.

Organisers of the Edinburgh Marathon say that this is the "the fastest marathon route in the world" with a descent of almost 90m, so it's a good course for those looking for a fast time or a personal best.

Edinburgh Marathon Festival Races

Among the other running events taking place over the Edinburgh Marathon Festival weekend are 10k, 5k, and junior races on Saturday.

Several thousand runners typically also take part in the 13.1-mile Edinburgh Half Marathon event which starts at 8am on the Sunday,  before the main event at 10am, the 26.2-mile Edinburgh Marathon itself. There is also a marathon relay race on Sunday.

Marathon runners have a maximum of 6 hours and 30 minutes, from when the back of the race crosses the start line, to complete the full marathon. For the half marathon, it is 3 hours 15 minutes. A sweeper bus follows at the rear of the race  picking up runners who fall behind. The cut-off time for the 10K is 1 hour 30 minutes and for the 5K is 45 minutes.