Edinburgh Marathon Festival, live.

Two days of road running from Holyrood to the East Lothian coast

The Edinburgh Marathon Festival fills the last weekend of May 2027 with a marathon, a half marathon, a relay and shorter races around Edinburgh.

The festival runs over Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 May 2027. Saturday belongs to the shorter races in and around Holyrood Park, and Sunday to the long distances that head out of the city towards the coast of East Lothian.

Sunday starts early. The Edinburgh Half Marathon sets off at 8:00 from Potterrow and finishes on the straight in Musselburgh. It starts on a downhill and then flattens out all the way to the finish, which is why the organiser rates its PB potential so highly. The Edinburgh Marathon starts at 10:00 over 26.2 miles, takes in landmarks of the city and then the views along the East Lothian coastline, and the organiser notes it was voted the fastest marathon in the UK by Runner's World. The Hairy Haggis Team Relay starts at the same time, with a team of four sharing the marathon course.

On Saturday the EMF 10K starts at 9:00 and the EMF 5K at 11:00, both starting and finishing near Dynamic Earth and running through Holyrood Park with views of the city and Edinburgh Castle. Junior races for ages 6 to 18 and a Kids Kilometre follow from midday around Holyrood Park.

For a family or a running club, the mix works well. Someone can race the marathon while others take the half, the relay or the Saturday races. Both long races on Sunday leave the city centre for Musselburgh, where the organiser promises the roar of the crowds on the finish straight and a festival atmosphere in the finish area.

On Livebib you can follow a participant who chooses to share their own live position from the phone they carry. This is not the organiser's timing, and the official results come from the Edinburgh Marathon Festival.