I Won't Be Running The Edinburgh Marathon Again Soon! Edinburgh Marathon 2024 - What Went Wrong?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 มิ.ย. 2024
- It was never going to be the best marathon experience running in a yellow weather warning for heavy rain and flooding, but the weather is the weather and I turned up determined to make the most of the Edinburgh Marathon. The transport to the start was difficult with none of my trains arriving into Edinburgh until after the marathon, plus all the Park and Rides were full. Huge thanks to Jeremy for the lift to the start, I literally couldn't have done it without you! This race was actually a fairly enjoyable experience until the finish line. I say fairly as my feet were so painful from the halfway point!
It's been widely reported that they ran out of medals for hundreds of runners, but for me, there were many more issues that need to be addressed before EMF can consider this event a success! Runners deserve better than this after paying almost £70 to enter the UK's second biggest marathon! It is also worth noting that if you're running the Edinburgh Marathon then don't expect a tracker or any pacers as they don't provide either. They even suggest you use phone tracking on various apps... Only the networks were down at the finish so I'm not even convinced that would work! Really disappointing all round.
This video tells the story of my first visit to the Edinburgh Marathon and why I won't be returning in a hurry! Apologies for the crash in audio for a few minutes towards the end... The rain was torrential and it was all a bit too much for my camera! I'm hoping it recovers so I can carry on making videos.
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Nicola :)
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What a shame. Organisation makes or breaks a race. There's no excuse for a race which has been running for so long to get it so wrong! Amazing effort from you given everything you'd done before
Thanks 🤗 Lol I definitely wasn't going into it rested 🙈😂 It just felt like they didn't care at the end. We definitely all needed a foil blanket for safety, I just hope everyone was okay 🙏🏻
That at the end with the bags was terrible. I also ran the marathon really enjoyed it apart from the end part. But I was lucky that I missed the monsoon. Crazy weather. Well done for getting the finish.
Thanks, yes it was definitely a day to be a faster runner! 🤣 I'm guessing you guys got dry bags back. That would have been the dream! Well done to you too though, you must have had a great race despite the awful start 💪🏻
What a pity that they got it so wrong at the end! I really felt for you knowing that you were finishing and your stuff was going to be wet. That sucked. I felt for all those who didn’t get medals at the end too. No excuse to run out when they know how many people signed up. It’s a shame as it looked like a wonderful course but with all those issues I don’t feel I would want to run it! I hope your feet recovered quickly! 💛
Thanks, yes it was definitely a shame that it all went wrong right at the end. With a tiny bit of thought it could have been a fantastic experience 🤦🏻♀️
Hi Nicola, we met at Boston parkrun. Well done on the marathon in those conditions. I ran the Boston UK marathon in April. We had torrential rain from start to finish and 37mph winds. Like you, the bags at the end were laid on the floor in the car park in puddles of water. When collecting my bag I was advised to just go and find it, not really safe and secure really. There was a real lack of care for the finishers with many going to hospital with hypothermia, again they had apparently run out of silver blankets early on. I do think that a lot of events these days are risking the health of runners after the events. Hopefully your next one will be a better experience.
Hey Marcus, sorry to hear you had a similar experience 😔 it's simply not good enough. Hopefully we don't experience that again! 🤞🤞🤞
Thank-you for sharing what a wonderful soul you have .😊
Oh my goodness what a beautiful comment ❤️ Thank you so much 🙏🏻
Love how u ran the whole thing while still recording without running out of breath and still smiling .
Awww thanks 🤗 The smiling was an effort as my feet hurt so much but at the end of the day I paid for it and had chosen to be there so I was definitely going to make the most of it no matter what 😊
You are an amazing lady. Nothing seems to phase you and you always manage to raise a smile. Very well done on yet another marathon. Best wishes!
Awww thank you Robert 🤗 I really try to remember that running a marathon is a privilege. I'd paid to be there so even though my feet were so sore and the weather was bad, it's a challenge I've chosen to do and so I should just get stuck in 🤷🏻♀️ In my experience being miserable always makes situations worse so I will always try to smile. It's been a long time since I was that cold though, they definitely needed to give us foil blankets! 🤦🏻♀️
Even if the organisation was perfect, I would find it hellish to be in the crowd of people for such a long time. Each to their own I guess. Well at least there were some positives for you, Nicola, like the things to look at and the support from the spectators. Weldone, even though you might have not liked it too much, you made an interesting video to watch out of it. Also, I love it how you are not phased by just talking into the camera with people around you. I still can't do it, I feel very self conscious. And there's so much you can say into the camera too!
Thanks my lovely, I think confidence on camera just comes with practice. You feel like a wally at first but Doon realise nobody cares 🙃 I love the vibe and all the people at big city events but the magic is in the solitude and beauty of being alone on the trails 😍 Thanks for your lovely comment ❤️
Well done Nicola, ran amazing, shame about the end, was a tad disappointing how the end was organised x
Thanks 😊 Yeah, there's people saying the whole race was bad, I actually thought it was great until the finish line 🤷🏻♀️ then it was terrible! 🤦🏻♀️
Excellent job with running the marathon itself - sorry to hear that you had an uncomfortable time at the end. I was at the same event and finished just as it was starting to rain again; I missed both the shortage problems and my bag getting wet, but I did find the finish area wasn't clearly laid out and I was stumbling around trying to find where I needed to go. I still found the whole marathon a positive experience as a whole so I think I would do it again, though only after trying out some other ones (it was only my second marathon overall).
Congratulations 🎉🎉🎉 I hope you pick an awesome 3rd marathon. Well done for finishing before the rain! 🙌🏻😃
Hi Nicola, first of all, many congrats on completing the marathon, all done with a massive smile on your face, you handled the elements and conditions very well, for what it's worth, I ran the half that same morning as you and it was bucketing down for the whole time we were out there, then we get to the end and our bags are laid out in a field, soaking wet, so basically trudged the 2 miles back to my car and then proceeded to put on damp clothes, not happy at all, I've been running the EMF for 10 years now, I decided at the end of race that it would be the last time, the event organisers don't care about the runners health and well being, in my opinion, they have 'lost' their core values, and yeh, no pacers, go figure, anyways, you have a new subscriber to your channel. Good luck on your next adventure and stay safe :)
Thanks and well done on the half, it was truly a grim day wasn't it?! 🙈🌧️🌧️🌧️ I honestly couldn't believe they just dumped our stuff in that field. I was so upset and disappointed. I think you're right about core values, it definitely didn't feel like anyone cared about our experience as runners 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🙃 I think I'll stick with more local, smaller events companies that really care about us as runners 🤗
Great video Nicola. That was terrible after you finished leaving the bags in the floor is unforgettable. As for pacers if run through can manage pacers surely a bigger event can manage it to? £68 isn’t cheap so I would have expected more so I understand your disappointment.
Thanks, yes I can't understand the shortcomings here 😔 It wasn't good enough 🤷🏻♀️
I think I got a chill just from watching your race experience, Nicola. I heard it wasn't a pleasant experience for runners. Sometimes race organizers miss the finer details in race logistics and bad weather always compounds those mistakes. It looked like a very narrow starting area, spectators creeping in at the last half mile and people crossing the street midrace are just accidents waiting to happen. In 2011, I ran the Las Vegas Marathon and situation was like that at the finish -- bad weather, a shortage of medals and poor post race signage. I barely got out of the finish area before it got out of control. I guess the paramedics and such were very busy that night. I usually shy away from mega races as a result.
Loved the scenery and it looked like a fun race though and they had plenty of spectators. It was interesting to see the different levels of apparel on the race as well -- some people in tank tops and some decked out. Great video as usual!
You're right, the weather definitely compounded the problems! But yeah, it wasn't good enough. However, like you say, there were definitely some great moments and positive things to take from the race 😃
Leaving your bags on wet ground, whilst it pouring rain is unforgivable!
Also, running out of medals is so bad!
This is a marathon I’ve not done yet, and things like this don’t make me want to do it anytime soon.
Good video Nicola!😊
Thanks, yes it's definitely not one I'll be recommending to anyone unfortunately 😢
Thanks for such a great video Nicola. I ran Edinburgh this year too and I TOTALLY agree with all your thoughts. I would add that my friend and I felt that there should have been a lot more toilets around the start area (I wish we had found that indoor place that you were in!). We queued for about 25minutes and were still nowhere near the front of the queue so ended up running off to pee in a park with all the guys so that we didn't miss our start! I must have finished around the same time as you, and have never been so wet in my life...couldn't find my husband for AGES and ended up standing in that field for over half an hour, freezing cold with no foil blanket...I actually felt quite scared. Thanks again for making this video and happy running!
Oh no, I'm so sorry you had this experience too... It was a bit scary at the end. There was just nobody there to look after us. In that weather a foil blanket should have been handed to every runner as they crossed the line. I think the toilets at the start was just poor communication because there were plenty but people didn't know where they were! I was definitely lucky to find my indoor spot in the dry and with toilets. Bless you guys peeing in the park with the boys 🙈 Just such poor organisation, in all my years of running I've never known anything like it!
I was gonna comment and say show feet 🤣 what the bloody hell, I gasped when i saw the bags on the floor. Shame on them! Your positivity shines through as always, your videos keep inspiring me! One day ill do a marathon!! Not this one though 😅
Thanks my lovely, I was like... Can I film my manky feet? 🙈😂 I'd definitely recommend starting with a race that either offers the big race experience like London, or something smaller where they really care and look after you 🤗 Or one that I'm pacing and then I'll just chat to you all the way round. You'll have to run away for some peace 🤣
I feel your pain. Was nearly hypothermic after the D33 years ago. Putting the bags out like that in the rain was a horrendous error.
I honestly couldn't believe it 😔😭
Hi Nicola I’m a massive fan!
Hi Maddie, happy Friday! Thanks for watching 🤗
‘Marathon runners are quite vulnerable at the finish.’
I totally agree. I ran London this year after being out for a few weeks with injury in the buildup. So not as fit as I’d have liked. Took it ‘easy’ but felt very faint at the end. But my experience after the finish line was outstanding - amazing organisation, paramedic checking I was ok, bag pick up brilliant, signage first class.
There really is no excuse for getting these things wrong.
Well done on the run. Your fingers at the end looked like my mum’s 😂. She suffers with Reynards too.
She once asked a doctor what she could do.
‘Move to a hot country.’ 😂
I was saying that Edinburgh definitely has some lessons to learn from London. London does it so well! 🙌🏻 Your poor mum... Raynaud's is awful 😞
This helps me to remember why I am primarily a trail runner x
Yes! 🙌🏻 I need to remember this!
This was my first marathon, and apart from the rainy cold first 1.5 hours, I seemed to dodge most of the chaos. I finished in under three hours so had the benefit of a less busy finishing area I could navigate, and also avoided the resurgent monsoon (was in the car on the way home by then). This video was extremely eye-opening. I also don’t remember that narrow strip of road in the last mile before the barriers with spectators crowding in and crossing in big numbers.
Final note - you looked impossibly fresh and cheery even as you finished, while everyone else looked like they’d just done an aquatic ultra.
Thanks, I didn't put in as much effort as I could have done but I was mindful that racing 10km 2 days after a marathon 2 weeks before and then climbing Snowdon a few days before had definitely left my body tired. I'm not in PB shape so I figured I'd just enjoy it. I was thinking that finishing around 3 hours would have been great, all the stuff at the finish wouldn't have run out, you'd miss the rain and would have made it back to the car. I should have run faster 😜 All I really needed at the end was a foil blanket and them not to have left my bag on the floor in the rain. It's really sad that they didn't look after us properly and even sadder that the people that were out there another few hours after me were treated even worse 😭 Nice to hear it wasn't terrible for everyone though 😃
P.S. HUGE congratulations for sub 3 on your first marathon. That is truly epic 💪🏻👏🏻🎉
What an honesty review. I was thinking of doing this Marathon, now I won't. These events cost so much, and they can't get the basics right. Run of out metals, can't keep drop off bags dry, and foil blankets should be at the end of every Marathon.
Exactly this. I was so excited to do this race but I wish I'd entered something local where they care about you at the finish. I was so sad to see my bag on the floor 💔 and it meant I got so very cold. It was scary how cold people were 😞
Had a similar experience at Manchester a few years ago , luckily it was when was fairly quick so I missed the worse . Some had to wait hours. It’s the last thing you need after running that distance!
Yeah it's really poor when these things happen 😞 Sorry you've experienced similar 🤦🏻♀️
well done on finishing i was shocked by where the runners bags had been left it was disgusting when you wanted dry and warm clothes
I know right?! So bad... And we just needed a foil blanket 😔 it wasn't good
what poor organisation - so sorry you & the other runners had to endure this!
Thanks, yeah it wasn't good enough! 😔
Uh oh , it all went a bit wrong and you are never negative , id have given you a warm hug at the end had i been there, poor baby ☹
It was the perfect storm of poor weather and poor organisation. We desperately needed to be given a foil blanket when we finished, it was really bad 😔
@@NicolaRuns Are your feet ok ? Dont push yourself too hard , i know im wasting my breath 🙄😊
@@bren70ssss94 awwww I'm pleased you know me now 😜🤗 but I appreciate the concern nonetheless ☺️
Two fantastic videos from you Nicola (watched the Whitekirk one too) congratulations especially on completing the marathon in such bad weather, sorry about your wet clothes and especially your feet, it remindd me of photos of mens feet fighting in the trenches during World War one, disgracefull that the runners baggage was left outside soaked in the rain.
The longest run I have ran is a half marathon but most of my runs are 5K and 10Ks as well as parkruns., I hope your feet recovered quickly
Thanks Alan 🤗 Urgh my feet took ages! Over a week of painful running. The blisters were pretty bad 🤦🏻♀️ Yeah I won't lie, I was fuming that my bag was left on the floor in the rain 😭
That's very poor indeed, leaving your bags on a soaking wet field, terrible, well done though n your run Nicola after everything you've done - Leeds marathon, Snowdon and that 10k!
Thank you, yes I maybe need to plan my diary a bit better but I get excited and enter things 🤣 I definitely wasn't going to PB on my tired legs, I'm pretty sure I heard my legs swearing at me while I ran 😜🤣
@@NicolaRuns I did 5 races in 9 days recently and a fairly quick parkrun, still feeling it now 😂😂
@@TheHutchRuns that's awesome! Well done 😃💪
Oh dear, not good! I've been running for a very very long time, but a while ago I chose not to pay to enter many events or races as it wasn't worth the price! Hopefully one day you might make it to Australia, and maybe do the Gold Coast Marathon.
I'd absolutely love that! 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🇦🇺😃
Hope you and your camera have dried out by now Nicola. The dedication of the crowds in those conditions was truly phenomenal. True Scottish grit!
Thanks, weren't they just incredible! I'm not sure I could have done it without them, the support was unbelievable 🙏🏻🤗
That looked terrible at the end. We understand something similar happened on a smaller scale at Boston.
Risking runners' safety and wellbeing.
I actually collapsed at the end of the Halstead Marathon in 27 degree heat. But the superb and slick organisation of that club organsied marathon meant i was swiftly and expertly dealt with.
You have to wonder when organisers put profit above safety. How much would a foil blanket in your goody bag cost? 50p? But multiply that by 35000 runners...
It definitely felt like they'd put no thought into the runners experience, just profit 😔 that's awesome that you got such awesome care when you needed it. I hate to think what would have happened here! 😱
Nice that the orator recognized you at the race end. Well done. My old hunting grounds from many years ago still magnificent, with my ever supportive kin folk cheering all entrants, along. Saddened by the shortages, which is never acceptable, and appears that the whole organisation, was lacking. God bless
Honestly the support was amazing! Like... Unbelievably amazing. I'm not sure I could have done it without those incredible people 🤗
There was a torrential downpour at the end of the Great North Run last year, rivers down the road, the works. Then the Metro closed due to flooding, there was a mile long queue for the ferry and bus' got stuck in the traffic. Only a half but everyone was cold and wet. I firmly believe that the foil blankets saved lives that day.
I don't think you're wrong. Foil blankets should be given to every runner finishing a marathon in the rain. For safety! 😞
I was there too but organisation was I felt so much better we sat on a luggage bus for quite a while. Not much they could have done about the metro flooding but by the time we got to the station they had started again and worked really hard to clear the queues.
An unkind finish, as you said, there is a vulnerability when one has given all, these events are not cheap to enter and sadly it seems that some (thankfully not the majority) are organised on a profit making / shaving costs at the cost of health and safety and it would seem not organised by runners... I think this is why trail is so awesome.. The community feel transcends and informs the whole experience... Fair play to you for finding the positives but that finish was dodgy as! Ps.. I never run anywhere longer than 10k without a foil blanket tucked away somewhere.. Its my just in case item (along with my mint cake 😅) x
Couldn't have said it better myself! 🤗
I should I also add I did 2018 Boston marathon , I still have nightmares about the rain and headwinds . It’s great to be retired from marathons 😂
🤣🤣🤣 This made me laugh 😂
Well that was the real 'Scottish weather' Nicola, the rain looked horrendous. Really bad form with the bag drop (literally) and it's not on to not look after people properly - everyone else seems to manage it. Hope your feet have recovered
Thanks, feet took over a week!!! Worst I've ever had 🤦🏻♀️ I definitely don't love road running! Trails all the way! Different foot placement FTW! 🙌🏻
Shame about the bag, fwiw I use a 20 litre dry-bag as my drop bag, or if I need a bigger one I have everything in dry-bags inside the drop bag.
Thanks, top tip... Although I'd hate to think of the environmental impact of 35,000 runners buying dry bags just because they couldn't be bothered to look after our stuff. If I had a dry bag I'd definitely use it though. I imagine anyone that did was like "thank goodness" 😃🤣🙌
The bags at the end is unacceptable, that was a disgrace.
Couldn't agree more... I was pretty sad 😭😭😭
I've been steadily losing faith in these mass participation running events for a while now. Poor value for money and often safety is compromised. I had a bad experience at Runfest Richmond Marathon last year during a heatwave (they should have cancelled) where extra measures weren't provided properly and the course wasn't easily accessible by emergency services. I'm much more diligent when I enter races now, favouring lapped courses for longer distance events and making sure I take my own hydration and food.
Isn't it sad that you've had to take these measures 😔 I really wish the runners experience would be put above profits on races this big! 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
Volvox, this isn't the same company who organise the Great Scottish ,South or The Great Manchester run, if that company organised the Edinburgh Marathon festival hopefully it would be better than what happened when Nicola ran it.
I think anything would be better 🤦🏻♀️🤣 There was just no organisation at the finish! 😳
A friend of mine did the half and was treated badly on account of not being fast enough to get a medal etc, she was within cut off but not enough medals ordered, she had overcome so much and it was such a huge deal to do it.. Disgusting organising x
Just awful 😔 I'm so sorry she had that experience 😭😭😭
£68 for the marathon.
Finish bags on the floor
No online tracking facility
Same finishing medal and t-shirt each year.
They ran out of medals and this is not the first year this has happened.
Not good enough
No, sadly people were saying that this happens every year. It's not good enough 😔
Say hello to arnica cream and it will help your skin recover from including blisters
Great tip, thank you so much 🤗
That's a first. Of all your videos of Marathon distance plus, I don't think I've ever seen you eat just one paultry butty, it's usually a running buffet, literally 😏
You're quite right to highlight the end of run chaos re the baggage, not acceptable really.
And the less said about your feet the better 😳...hope they recovered quickly. I'd rather see bleeding nipples 😌
Again, thanks for the videos and keep smiling ☺️
Nooooooo... I've had enough of seeing bleeding nipples for the rest of my life 🤢 My feet were a state for a week... Really badly blistered but they'd shriveled up. Honestly it was awful! Road running in the rain isn't for me. I've done three times the distance in the rain on trails and been fine... It's the repetition in the foot strike that killed me 🤦🏻♀️
I can only remember having full on bleeding nipples once after Manchester Marathon a few years ago, but the worst one for me was not realising my nippular area had been 'compromised' after another rainy run and only realised when it got hit full pelt with a hot shower jet...I imagined what child birth must've been like for a brief moment 😏
Glad your feet recovered, they did look grim...take it easy, 👍
@@paulhaines2305 ahhhh... The delights of the post run chafing shower 🤣🤣🤣
"delights" 😳
Deviant! 😂
@@paulhaines2305 I've been called worse 🤣🤣🤣
Aww, what a shame, hope you all complain!!
Looks like a lovely run. But, such a shame about the end organisation that changes it from being a fun challenging run battling against the elements, to a let down leaving you cold and disappointed.
It's not like it was just a sudden freak downpour at the end, it had been raining all day. Edinburgh should be used to rain and have contingency plans!
By the way, the men wee at the side to free up the toilets for the ladies. We don't only do it because we are lazy, impatient and can't be bothered to queue.😃🚽🚻
The last bit of your comment made me laugh so much! I love this... I'm going to remember it and it will always make me smile 🤣🤣🤣 Thank you 🙏🏻 And yeah... Rain in Scotland shocker... 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️🤣