Johnny Donnelly

Scotland May 22nd
Got to bed very late the night before so not much sleep was had.Rise and shine at 6am and got ready. I then travelled to late register and got my Number and next thing you know it’s show time !I actually felt better today than I did for yesterday’s race although the legs were a bit fatigued. As the race progressed the feckin rain started and kept going and the wind. I got to halfway point and felt good. I was running slower than usual but steady. As we headed out east from Edinburgh along the coast to mile 17 we turned into a estate which was nice before travelling back onto the main road heading for home. I crossed the finish line in 3 hr 34 mins then another quick outdoor change before heading to the Airport to catch a flight to Dublin and then the drive home.

So Edinburgh is one of the best cities in the world but the marathon basically starts there and then heads east away from the city and finishes miles away. Now I know it’s all about traffic and closing off roads etc but it just makes for a boring race. Not many supporters and very little entertainment and also the fact that they don’t allow I pods make this a difficult race to do! The support that does come out is fantastic as the Scottish are ,but as soon after the race and after the 20min walk to the bus pick up followed by a 45 min bus trip back to town you arrive back into a vibrant city only to think lads think out of the box and bring the marathon to the actual city and show off that amazing place, please!I will however return on holiday but maybe not to run!

Might possibly be the friendliest place on earth!