Marathon Recovery and Edinburgh Marathon Race Review
It's hard to believe that it has been two weeks since I crossed that finishing line. In some ways, it feels like a lifetime ago but on the other hand, that sprint to the finishing line feels so fresh.
This was obviously taken at the start, hence the excitement in my eyes and the waistband stuffed with fuel.
Despite my only average recovery efforts - some compression leggings post-race, some major rehydration and a hot bath with very little stretching and no icing - my body didn't fare too badly. The day after the race, I was stiff but I would say the worst day was the following Wednesday (T+3). By Friday and Saturday however, I was feeling pretty normal. Except when I needed to go down stairs.That was all kinds of awkward.
On Friday, I went back to the massage therapist. She helped work out the tension in my calves, quads and hip flexors but in reviewing my experience with the race suggested that my foot numbness at Mile 9 was a symptom of heat stroke – your body regulates temperature by pulling blood from your extremities, meaning that my injured foot was deprived of its higher-than-usual blood supply. Hence, the numbness. She theorized that I was fighting heat stroke from much earlier than I had realised – that if I hadn’t slowed down when I did, I probably would have struggled even more with finishing. Hmm.
Race review:
The Edinburgh Marathon festival includes multiple events, including a fun run, a 5km and 10km on Saturday, and both a Half and Full Marathon on the Sunday. This was the race’s 10th year and there were over 30,000 runners registered for the two Sunday events.
The course:
The Half and full both leave from central Edinburgh and then turn out to the coast where it turns into an out-an-back along the East Lothian coast. The first three or so miles are a bit hilly and there is a bridge around mile four but it is otherwise uneventful. By mile five, the course flattens out and you are running directly beside the ocean along a coastal path. This is a popular running and biking path, so it is pretty wide but it is also very exposed to the elements. Around mile eight, the course moves inland towards the town of Musselburgh. The initial few miles go through the town and its outlying suburbs before about the out-and-back starts about mile ten. From mile thirteen, you are running along the coastal highway for all but about 0.75 mile at the turnaround point, which is run along a trail in the woods. These sections are quite narrow because they are used for two-way runner traffic.
The crowd support was really strong until the out-and-back section but it was well-marshaled, so you didn’t feel alone. There were plenty of volunteers along the course and at the water stations, which ran quite smoothly. I appreciated that water was often available on both sides of the course, which minimizes collisions or bottlenecks.
The crowds were fantastic, especially in the town of Musselburgh itself. People cheered from their lawns, played music, gave out water and candy, and ran their sprinklers or hoses over us as we ran past. I’m not sure if I would have made it through miles 23-25 if it hadn’t been for the Jelly Babies people gave me.*
Jelly Babies are like a British version of Jube Jubes, except with no artificial colours thanks to the European Union food safety board and in the shape of tiny people.
The positives:
The race start was very well organized and corrals were clearly marked. There were lots of portapotties and marshals to tell runners where to go. In fact, the marshaling was excellent throughout the course. The water stations were well-spaced out and well-managed by volunteers.
The medals and finishers t shirts were excellent. I feel like the brass colour is an excellent neutral and goes with everything.
I kid, I'm not actually wearing it on a daily basis but I totally would if I could.
The finish line was really well supported and the energy was fantastic. I felt like a rockstar crossing the finish line.
Edinburgh really is a beautiful city – it makes for a great weekend trip and I wish that I had longer to explore more of it while I was in town. Also, it is quite a small city, so everything is pretty close when you are looking to get around. My cab home from the post-race drinks was £5, which made the weekend a bit easier on the wallet.
The negatives
This race let itself down in a few key logistical areas. Firstly, the race was scheduled with a 8:00 am start for the Half and 10:00 am start for the Full. This meant during the hottest part of the day, which is completely illogical. Why they didn’t start at the same time or with the Half afterwards, I do not understand. The large number of heat stroke victims would have been reduced significantly if we had the earlier start. It was tough to watch so many people at the sidelines receiving medical attention, particularly along the highway stretch – it looked like something out of a war movie.
Everything after the moment I collected my medal was a nightmare. The exit from the course into the general finishing area was insanely crowded because there were hundreds of finishers exiting in the same area that others were lining up for food. This was totally unnecessary and made the 20 minutes after finishing completely miserable.
The selection of food at the course was okay but I’m glad that I’m not a vegetarian – it was a lot of burgers or meat but it would have been nice to have some healthier options too. Maybe there aren't many people who want veg when finish a race (I really craved Greek salad with super-salty Feta cheese) but it would have been nice to have a few other options.
The shuttle bus situation back into town was a joke. Firstly, the walk to the pickup area was close to a mile (UPHILL) away from the finish, in the wrong direction (i.e. away and not towards town). This meant that once you got on the bus, you were stuck in all the road closures around the finish line, adding probably 20 minutes to the journey. Further, the bus pickup area was terribly managed. There were not enough staff to manage the people buying tickets as they loaded. Why didn’t they have people going up the lineups to manage ticket transactions or have two lineups, for people with and without tickets? Also, I don’t want to be rude here but surely the finishers should have been given priority over spectators going back into town by say, limiting how many spectators could get on the bus at any one time. The line up was probably 45-60 mins, although I got around this by jumping on a city bus instead.
Would I do this race again?
No. It was too crowded and the post-race logistics were terrible, plus I found the out-and-back section of the course extremely dull. I’ve taken a few lessons here for my next race.
1. Look to run a smaller or less crowded race- the congestion slowed me down and made the last six miles feel even longer
2. Look at races with off-road or trail sections. The trail section was my favourite part of the course. I have been covering somewhere between %75-80 of the distance on my long runs on trail and I like the variable terrain and cover from the elements. I am now on the lookout for a trail half marathon for the future.
3. I need more variety in a course to keep myself focused. I know that any marathon will include some boring stretches but too much of this course was the same.
4. Carrying water is worth the effort but next time I will carry more electrolytes. I dissolved found half of a Nuun in my handheld at mile 23 and I think that was what gave me the energy to finish.
5. In the future, I will evaluate potential races based on the FINISH, not on the START. Like a lot of people, nerves on race morning can translate to anxiety, so I was more concerned about the logistics of the start of this race. I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that the finishing area was outside of town but spending 30 minutes lining up to board a bus that took over two hours to get back to the center of town??? Not ideal.
So how soon can I do the next one??