Thousands set to take part in Edinburgh Marathon Festival weekend starting today

Edinburgh Marathon Festival is the biggest event of its type in Scotland and runners will take to the streets of the city today (May 24) as it returns for 2025. It was first held in 1982 and has been a mainstay since. Each of the last 17 years have sold out and it is the second largest marathon in the UK outside of London.

It is expected that around 30,000 people will take part in the event, with a number of charities benefiting from runners kind donations and. A further 100,000 lining the streets of the capital to watch the runners pound their way around Edinburgh, Portobello and Musselburgh.

The 2023 Edinburgh Marathon Festival took place in glorious sunshine to helped put a smile on runners' faces

When do the races start?

This year’s event begins this morning with the EMF 10K expected to start proceedings at 9.00am. The day is set to be jam packed, with the 5K and a number of junior races also taking place throughout the morning and afternoon.

On Sunday, the main event kicks off with the EMF Half Marathon and Marathon. The gruelling courses take runners through the city and into Portobello before finishing in Musselburgh.

You can read more here.

What weather can you expect?

Runners can expect similar weather to last year with rain forecast for both Saturday and Sunday, however the Half Marathon and Marathon is set to be slightly dryer.

You can read more here.

Road Closures

A number of roads around Edinburgh and the surrounding area are set to be closed - with disruption beginning on Friday and continuing through until Sunday. There will also be a number of disruptions to bus services around the city.

You can find a full list of road closures and bus service alterations, here. You can also view the full route and mile markers on our interactive map here.

Best of luck from everyone at the Edinburgh Evening News to those taking part in this year’s event!