Quakers in Edinburgh

What a weekend! This weekend past saw the running of 8th Edinburgh Marathon, this was my second attempt at the marathon, my first being in 2007. After going through six months, countless miles and too many bowls of porridge in preparation for the race I felt nervous and excited whilst stood on the start line.

The marathon experience is something which you have to go through, a rite of passage to become a running addict. I’ve listened to people at the club talk about their own Marathon adventures and I think it’s an infectious feeling, you feel like you need to do one.

I began the weekend by driving up the Edinburgh along the Coastal Route, enjoying the lovely scenery, upon arriving in the city we made our way down to the Grass Market where we assumed residence in Edinburgh’s largest beer garden and began to do a little carb loading (beer is full of complex sugars and other valuably nutrients)! I then joined the other Quakers for a pizza and pasta party at Pizza Hut, before retiring back to the hotel for a few carbs and the Champions League Final.

(The Pizza Hut in Hanover Street was woefully understaffed and under stocked, we had booked in for 16 people and they had a reduced staff on. A little aside, but worth mentioning)

In previous years the Edinburgh Marathon weekend has seen high temperatures and scoring sun during the race, this year was no different. I woke up early to the sound of rain, my enthusiasm was short lived as the sun came out and dried up all the rain. The start of the marathon was split up into time predicted pens, with the slower runners and the faster runners split up. The stewards stationed around the start were mostly unhelpful and useless, we instead relied on other runners when we were stuck or asked questions. Facilities wise, it was very well organised, there were well labelled baggage buses, Lucozade sport stands, litter bins, refreshments and an ample amount of toilets. There was enough room to warm up and get a quick jog in at the start. A local music station played motivational tunes and the banter was entertaining, all adding to an exciting prerace atmosphere.

Along the start route I wished several Quakers luck and entered the starting pen, it was great seeing familiar faces so many miles away from our usual home races and personally it helped knowing there were other Quakers taking part.

The race started at 9:50 and I crossed the line about 40 seconds after the gun, considering the amount of people that was a fantastic feat. The first few miles weaved us through Edinburgh and into the inner city, it was a shame not to go through some of the more scenic and historic parts of the city, it felt more like a run through Darlington than a historic capital city! We were then making our way out of the city, this left me feeling a little disappointed to be kicked out of the main city – call this race the Outer Edinburgh Marathon next time.

The water stops were well staffed and well stocked on route, with Lucozade sport available at alternating stops. I felt towards the end of the race there could have been more water points especially as the weather reached 28˚, I resorted to picking up discarded water bottles from the floor to keep myself hydrated. There was a long point between 16 and 24 miles where there was no shade from the sun and it was extremely tough with the full glare of the sun. Although I normally don’t burn that easily and had used sun cream it looked like lots of people weren’t as well prepared and had burned quite badly. The organisers should look at either making the race start earlier or changing the date of the race because running in the midday sun (and later for those taking four to six hours) is not recommended. A commenter on the Runners World board complained that he did the race as it was advertised as being perfect for marathon PBs, however the organisers know it’s going to be too hot for peak performance, so why make that claim?

The support in the race, where it existed, was brilliant. Towards the end, from 23 miles on, the cheers and water offered by the crowds really helped. As I stopped to walk, a woman on the side rushed up to me and gave me a cup of water. All her neighbours were filling cups with hoses and giving out water to the walkers. These people are Saints and deserve recognition for probably saving a lot of people from being seriously poorly during the race.

However, all being said about the weather, the organisers cannot be blamed for an act of nature. Everything that happened from mile 26 onwards they can be blamed for...

• The last 0.2 miles were run on plastic matting covering the grass, it was spongy, extremely uneven and dimpled which made it hard to run on – especially after 26 miles on road
• The walk to the post race “festival” was miles away and unmarshalled, there were two tiny gates through which throngs of people were going in both directions, this lead to a crowd and crush of people trying to get through. People were getting very distressed and bothered and I’m genuinely surprised people were not getting crushed.
• There wasn’t enough room in the reunion area for everyone, on such a massive field they could have taken advantage of the space they had.
• The baggage buses were right at the end of the festival area, about a mile away from the finish line.
• The showers ran out almost straight away. They had “hired” showers!? Now this is a really odd one, personally I finished in the top 10% of runners and the showers were down to a trickle by the time I got there. I heard tales from other runners about how inappropriate they were, especially for people who had brought families with them, there wasn’t enough room for the mass of people wanting to use them.
• The shuttle buses were miles away, at least three miles from the finish line. That is of course, if you could find them! With local buses running at the same time runners were simply trying to get onto any bus! With massive lines and queues and no marshalling it was very confusing!
• The marshals and stewards who were dotted around the finishing area were unfriendly and very rude, completely unable to help when asked any questions.

Sigh...

There are so many clichéd things that have been said about Marathons, from it being a stage race of 20 miles followed by a 10k; that it is only attempted by nutcases; the infamous Reebok slogan (quoted by Steve Snook after we finished) about pain being weakness leaving the body. However, the quote which sums up the Marathon experience for me is from Emil Zatopek, Czech runner; winner of four Olympic gold medals:

"We (marathon runners) are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."

By Lord I experienced something! I crossed the line hand in hand with fellow Quaker Dave Todd, it was a great feeling to accomplish something which I’ve worked so hard to do. The satisfaction of knowing I’ve done it trumps the sore legs and the badly organised finish. The mental toughness it took to finish the race was equal to the physical nature of running 26.2 miles.

I would certainly recommend the marathon distance to any one, of any running ability. You have to have it on your running CV! However, I would not recommend the Edinburgh Marathon as the place to do it. The finish of the race soured me on the entire weekend, which is a shame because I love the city and it deserves to be the second choice for those in the UK wanting the big Marathon experience. The organisers have a lot to work on.