“Highly rated for its fast, mostly flat with more downhill than uphill, plus scenic views, this was one half I’d been looking forward to running for ages!” Quotes Spencer Harding.
By coincidence, fellow HAC runner Paul Williams had also signed up to compete (and only two bib numbers away!), so it was great to see him at the start line that about how we’d tackle the run. We were grateful we weren’t running back home, where it was about ten degrees warmer, but we knew we’d still be running in over twenty degrees today! 
The course starts in the historic city centre, with a mostly downhill first few miles, and then it levels out as it runs along the East Lothian coastline. The local support made the atmosphere amazing, with houses blasting out music and handing out sweets! 
Paul and I ran comfortably together for the first ten kilometres, but the heat soon got to me, and Paul started to pull away. Along the promenade, I got a cheer of “Well done Hillingdon“, which I thought was Paul’s relatives and gave me a little boost!
As time went on, I was struggling and wishing the water stops were closer! Coming off the seafront, we headed into Musselburgh where we could see the front runners coming to the end, but unfortunately for me, I had to long out and back to catch up, and I was gradually getting slower and slower! Finally, I rounded a corner to see the finishing line in sight and mustered any energy left to get over the line!
I was slightly disappointed with my time of 1hr40, knowing how good this course could be, but today wasn’t the day for PBs because of the heat. On the other hand, Paul crossed the line in an amazing time of 1hr35! I’m just glad I wasn’t doing the full marathon distance! We celebrated the day over a well-deserved pint of IPA with Paul’s parents before I had to walk another mile to get the event bus back to Edinburgh! 
Overall, it was a fantastic day and highly recommended! 
Paul Williams quoted: “The Edinburgh Half Marathon was a great experience. The course had everything – old city streets, green rolling scenery, a nice seafront and some welcome downhill bits. The sun shone, the crowds cheered, there was fellow Hillingdon team-mate support, and a new PB.
My March and April were all over the place due to a setback, so I was cutting it fine.
But it’s been a great reminder to not disaster-ise, to go with the flow, stay productive and just focus on pacing it effectively mile by mile on the big day. 🙂👍🏻🥃”
