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May 30, 2027
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The Edinburgh Half Marathon is a point-to-point road race from central Edinburgh to Musselburgh on the East Lothian coast, held on a Sunday in late May as part of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. The half marathon has been part of the festival since 2010, and the festival itself dates from 2003. The race starts on Potterrow, in front of the University of Edinburgh's McEwan Hall, and shares its start with the Edinburgh Marathon, which sets off two hours later. The route passes Greyfriars Kirkyard, crosses the Royal Mile with St Giles' Cathedral on the right, runs by the Palace of Holyrood and leaves the Royal Park before reaching Portobello promenade. It then continues to Musselburgh, past the oldest golf course in the world, on to Prestonpans, and turns back to finish within the playing fields of Pinkie School. The organisers describe a descent of almost 90 metres to near sea level, with the remainder flat. On the Saturday the festival stages a 5K, a 10K and junior races, and on the Sunday the marathon and team relay run alongside the half marathon. The organisers say the half marathon has sold out every year since 2012.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
Late May in Edinburgh is cool and changeable: average highs are about 15°C and lows about 7°C, with rain of 1 mm or more on roughly 10 days of the month.
The Race
Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Marathon Festival was founded by Geoff Sims, and its first event on 15 June 2003 attracted about 3,000 participants. In 2010 a half marathon was added for the first time, and entries across the festival jumped to more than 24,000. The festival went to two days in 2011.
Early on, the route turns past Greyfriars Kirkyard, where a statue marks Greyfriars Bobby, the dog that spent 14 years guarding his owner's grave. Further east, in Musselburgh, runners pass the oldest golf course in the world, where golf is documented as early as 1672, before the turn at Prestonpans and the run back to the finish at Pinkie School.
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