Press Release - Edinburgh Marathon - 9/21/07

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

          Runners flock to enter the 2008 Edinburgh Marathon

Entries for the 2008 Edinburgh Marathon which opened on 1st September 2007 
have seen runners flocking to get their entries in.  As of today (21st 
September) over 1,700 people have entered Scotland's largest marathon which 
is a 70% increase on last year's entries.  On the same date last year 1,010 
people had entered marathon. 

Damien O'Looney, PR & Marketing Manager for the marathon, said:

"The feedback we got from runners was amazing and they especially liked the 
finish in Musselburgh racecourse. We are happy but not surprised that 
entries are flooding in and if they continue at this rate we will have to 
seriously think about closing entries early".  

An independent survey has found that runners rated the 2007 Edinburgh 
Marathon as the best one to date.  Of those who rated the marathon on the 
Runners World website, the litmus test for any running event, 97% said they 
would run it again.  This is higher than the 2007 Flora London Marathon 
(89%), and the 2006 Great North Run (83%).

The 2007 route also proved a big success for runners. The average finishing 
time for the finishers in the 2007 marathon was 04:12:30 and in 2006 it was 
04:24:09. That means that on average every runner in the 2007 marathon ran 
an amazing 11 minutes and 39 seconds faster than runners in 2006.  This 
shows that the new designed route was a huge success for those seeking a 
PB. 

Geoff Sims, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Marathon, said:

"It's a nice feeling to be rated one of the best running events in the 
country and I expect to see a big upsurge in the numbers of runners taking 
part in 2008.  We have a great race with a great route and have proved we 
have a fast course. We now want to attract the top British male and female 
athletes to Edinburgh to get a PB on our fast route. 

Ballot entries for the Edinburgh Marathon are due to close on 15th January 
2008. Charity, running club and overseas entries close on 2nd May 2008. 
Entries may close early if we reach our entry limit. 


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