Edinburgh Marathon 2027 training plan

When to start training

Every plan counts back from race day, so the start date depends on how many weeks you give it. These are the Mondays each length begins.

Start later and the builder still makes a plan, shorter and built as far as it safely can. Start earlier and it begins 24 weeks out, with easy running until then.

The course

The organisers publish the 2027 route and call it fast and flat. It starts on Potterrow, by the University of Edinburgh's McEwan Hall, and finishes in Musselburgh. In short:

• The city. Past Greyfriars Kirkyard, across the Royal Mile, down the Mound into the New Town and through Princes Street Gardens. Then back up to the Royal Mile, past the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood.
• To the sea. Out of Holyrood Park and east to the coast at Portobello promenade. The organisers give a drop of almost 90 metres over the course to near sea level, and most of it is behind you by the time you reach the sea.
• Along the coast. Through Musselburgh, past its old golf course, and on east on the flat to Gosford House.
• Back to the finish. The route turns at Gosford House and heads back along the coast to the finish in Musselburgh.

In October 2026 the organisers' FAQs listed 9 water stations, about every 5 km, with no refills for your own bottle, and energy gels at 4 of them. The course has mile markers. Runners start from up to 12 pens, placed by predicted finish time.

The start is at 10:00. The cut-off is a strict 6 hours 30 minutes, with a sweeper bus behind the last runners at that pace (organisers' FAQs).

Pace band

Set to even pace in mile splits, to match the mile markers. With no official pacers, the band is how you keep to your plan. The organisers give the total drop and show the elevation as a graph, but publish no mile-by-mile figures, so we have not shaped the splits.

What the route does tell you: the downhill running is in the city, early. It is easy to bank time there without meaning to. Hold your pace, because quick downhill miles cost your legs later. The flat coast and the run back from Gosford House are where the race is decided.

Weather in May

The Met Office's 1991 to 2020 averages for its Royal Botanic Garden station in Edinburgh, about 3 km from the start, give May an average high of 14.9°C and an average low of 7.1°C. It rains on about 10 days in the month, 48 mm in total.

The 10:00 start is later than many marathons. A five-hour runner finishes at about 15:00, around the warmest part of the day. The second half is out along the Firth of Forth and back, open to any wind off the sea, so expect it in your face for one of the two directions. Check the forecast in race week.

Fuelling and heat

Practise race-day fuel on your long runs, not for the first time on the day. The fuelling calculator works out carbs per hour and when to take each gel for your goal time. If race week turns warm, the heat pace calculator shows how much to slow down.

How to get a place

Where entry stood in October 2026:

• Standard entry. No ballot. Entries opened on Monday 20 April 2026 and close when the race is full. The event information page still showed standard entry from £84.50.
• Charity places. Through a charity, from £0 to enter, with fundraising instead. Macmillan Cancer Support is the official charity. See charities.
• Good for Age and Top Club. Entry routes for faster club runners. The criteria page still showed the 2026 standards when we checked.

The organisers say times from the race can be used as qualifying times for other international marathons.