Edinburgh Marathon 2027 fueling guide: water stations, HIGH5 gels, and the coastal wind

The Edinburgh Marathon starts at 10:00 on Sunday, 30 May 2027, and gives you bottled water about every 5 km and HIGH5 gels at four of those stations: mile 9, 16.2, 21.75 and 24.25. There is no energy drink on course. The four gels add up to 92 g of carbohydrate, which is less than two hours of fuel for most runners in a race of three to six and a half hours. So most of your carbohydrate has to come with you from Potterrow. This guide shows what the organizer has published, when you will reach each station at your pace, and three plans to choose from.

Edinburgh is known as one of the fastest marathons in the UK. It drops almost 90 metres from the Old Town to the sea, then stays flat along the East Lothian coast. That makes the early miles feel easy and the late miles depend on two things: what you have eaten, and which way the wind blows on the way back from Gosford. The 2027 date and start time are confirmed. The station details below come from the organizer’s current FAQ, which still carries the last edition’s information in places, so check your Event Information Pack again in race week.

Edinburgh Marathon 2027: the confirmed race facts

The cut-off is a pace, not only a finish time. The sweeper bus runs at 6:30 marathon pace, which is about 14:53 per mile or 9:15 per km. Anyone it passes is asked to board, and runners who refuse are recorded as a DNF. Because the clock starts when the back of the race crosses the line, runners in the front pens have a little more time than the last pen. The organizer advises against walking the course, and the fueling plans below assume you keep moving.

What is on the Edinburgh Marathon course

The organizer gives the gel stations to a quarter mile but describes the water stations only as about every 5 km. The exact water positions are in the Event Information Pack, which appears in your MyRunning account about 10 days before the race. Plan with the 5 km rhythm and confirm it in race week.

HIGH5 Energy Gel Aqua is a thin, drink-like gel. HIGH5 lists 23 g of carbohydrate per 66 g sachet and says you do not need extra water with it. The caffeinated version, Energy Gel Aqua Caffeine, has 30 mg of caffeine. The organizer says the caffeinated gel on course is Berry and the caffeine-free one is Orange, with a 50/50 split. Check the sachet before you open it, since HIGH5 also sells a caffeine-free Berry. Both versions use glucose syrup and maltodextrin, with no fructose, which matters if you plan to take more than 60 g per hour.

Bottles are better than cups for fueling. You can carry one for a few hundred metres, take a gel with it, and drink without spilling in the wind. But a full 330 ml bottle at every station is a lot of water for many runners. A 4:00 runner reaches a station about every 28 minutes, so finishing every bottle would be about 700 ml per hour. Drink to your plan, not to the bottle.

When you will reach each station at your pace

The table shows elapsed time from your own start at key points for an even pace. Add it to 10:00, plus the minutes your pen takes to cross the line, to get the clock time. The water rows use the organizer’s “about every 5 km”, so treat them as approximate. A 3:00 runner reaches the first course gel at about 1:02, after two or three carried gels. A 6:00 runner reaches it at about 2:04, so the first two hours of fuel must all come from your pockets.

The longest gap between course gels is the first one: mile 9 comes 1:22 into a 4:00 race. After that the gaps are 7.2 miles, 5.55 miles, and 2.5 miles. For a 6:30 finisher, the sweeper bus reaches mile 9 at about 2:14 and halfway at 3:15, so the back of the field should eat on the clock from the first 20 minutes.

Pick your plan: three runner profiles

Sports nutrition research on distance runners supports carbohydrate intakes from 30 to 60 g per hour in a marathon, up to 75 to 90 g per hour in the longest races for runners who have trained their gut. Intakes above about 60 g per hour are only absorbed well when the product mixes glucose and fructose. The course gel is glucose and maltodextrin only, so it suits the lower and middle plans, and the extra grams for the racing plan should come from a glucose and fructose product you carry. With 25 g gels, one every 30 minutes gives 50 g per hour, every 25 minutes gives 60 g, and every 20 minutes gives 75 g.

Racing it: at 75 g per hour, a 3:00 race needs about 225 g. The first three course gels give 69 g, which leaves about six 25 g carried gels. The mile 24.25 gel comes at about 2:46, too late to help much. Build your number over eight to ten weeks of long runs, starting at 60 g and adding 10 to 15 g every second week while your stomach stays quiet. Take the first gel about 20 minutes in, and your last one by mile 22.

Steady marathon: think in grams. A 4:00 race at 60 g per hour is 240 g. The four course gels give 92 g, which leaves about 148 g, or six 25 g carried gels. Take carried gels at about 20, 45 and 70 minutes, the course gel at mile 9, then alternate carried and course gels to the finish. Write the grams next to each item and total each hour.

Long day: six hours at 50 g per hour is 300 g, and the course gives you 92 g of it. That leaves about eight carried 25 g gels, or a mix of gels and chews. Small, frequent doses work best when you are on your feet this long. Keep an eye on the sweeper pace: about 14:53 per mile, or 2:14 at mile 9 and 3:15 at halfway. Eating on schedule in the first two hours is what keeps you ahead of the bus on the coast road.

Caffeine, sodium, and the course gels

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg taken about 60 minutes before exercise. A 70 kg runner is at 210 mg with 3 mg per kg. A caffeinated course gel adds 30 mg, so bring any stronger caffeinated gel you plan to use.
• If you want caffeine late, the caffeinated Berry gel at mile 21.75 is the best fit: it comes just as the run back from Gosford starts to hurt.
• Sodium: there is no electrolyte drink on course, only water. The ACSM fluid position stand suggests drinks with about 20 to 30 mmol of sodium per litre, roughly 460 to 690 mg per litre of fluid. If you sweat a lot or see salt marks on your kit, carry a salt product you have tested.
• HIGH5 lists sea salt in Energy Gel Aqua but gives no sodium figure in the product text, so do not count on the course gels for sodium.
• Tear the top of your gel before the station, so you can hold the bottle in the other hand.

Hydration for a late May morning on the Forth

At the end of May, Edinburgh averages a daily high near 15 °C (59 °F) and a low near 8 °C (46 °F). Highs rarely fall below 8 °C (47 °F) or go above 19 °C (66 °F). There is about a 27 percent chance of a wet day, muggy days are rare, and the wind averages about 10.5 mph (17 km/h), mostly from the west. Sunrise is before 5:00, so by the 10:00 start the air has warmed. A 3:00 runner finishes at about 13:00; a 6:00 runner finishes at about 16:00, through the warmest part of the day.

Wind changes how much you sweat and how much you notice it. On a cool, breezy coast, sweat dries fast and many runners drink less than they lose. On a still, sunny day the same course feels much warmer. Sports nutrition guidance says to avoid losing more than about 2 percent of body mass through sweat, and also warns against drinking more than you sweat; finishing heavier than you started is a sign of overdrinking.

• Test your sweat rate in one cool and one mild long run before race week: weigh yourself before and after, and count what you drank.
• Hydration vests and water bladder packs are allowed, but the organizer cannot place personal bottles at stations.
• Bottles cannot be refilled on course, so carry a soft flask if you want your own sports drink.
• Pack a dry layer in your bag for the Reunion Area. The organizer advises a change of clothes and a waterproof liner when wind and rain are forecast, and suncream and a cap when it is warm.
• Seek help from the medical teams on the route for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast for a 10:00 start

A 10:00 start is kind to breakfast. A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework in sports nutrition guidance, at about 1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kg. The start is on Potterrow, under a mile from Princes Street and around a mile from Waverley station, and the event buses stop at Buccleuch Place, about 15 minutes’ walk away. Most runners can eat at 7:00 to 7:30 and still have time for bag drop and toilets.

• Two and a half to three hours before the start: a practised meal such as porridge with honey, toast with jam, or a bagel, with a banana and a familiar drink, about 1 to 2 g of carbohydrate per kg.
• Sixty to ninety minutes before: a small low-fibre top-up, such as a cereal bar or a few biscuits, eaten before you hand your bag to the baggage truck.
• Ten to fifteen minutes before the gun: an optional gel, only if used in training.
• Keep caffeine at the dose and timing you know. With a 10:00 start, your usual morning coffee may be four hours before the gun, so time any extra dose for about 9:00.
• If you still need to collect your number on race morning, the organizer asks you to arrive at least 70 minutes before your start. UK entrants have their numbers posted in May.

Course tactics: where Edinburgh tempts you

• Start to Portobello: from Potterrow past Greyfriars, across the Royal Mile, down the Mound, through Princes Street Gardens, then past the Scottish Parliament and Holyrood Palace and east to the coast. The drop of almost 90 metres to the sea comes in this stretch. It feels free, so hold back and take your first gel about 20 minutes in.
• Portobello to mile 9: along Portobello promenade and into Musselburgh, past the old golf course. The first course gel is at mile 9 near the racecourse. Steady runners should already have two or three carried gels in.
• Mile 9 to Gosford: east on the flat through Prestonpans, Cockenzie and Port Seton, with the second gel at mile 16.2 on Links Road past Longniddry Bents. If the usual westerly blows, it is behind you here. Bank calm miles, not fast ones.
• Gosford back to Musselburgh: the course turns near Gosford House, about mile 18 by our course trace, and runs back west along the coast. That leaves about 8 miles into any westerly wind. The gels at mile 21.75 and 24.25 are on this stretch. Tuck in behind other runners and keep eating on time, because a headwind raises effort without raising pace.
• Final miles: the finish comes into view as you run back along the coast into Musselburgh. Your last carried carbohydrate should be in by about mile 22 to 24, depending on your pace.

The long-run rehearsal that makes the plan real

Race day is at the end of May, so plan two full rehearsals in your last six to eight weeks of training. Start at 10:00, eat the same breakfast at the same time, wear the same kit, carry the same products, and fuel at the same clock times. If you plan to use the course gels, buy HIGH5 Energy Gel Aqua, both the caffeinated and caffeine-free versions, and test them on a long run. One rehearsal proves the plan works; the second tests it under fatigue, at goal pace for racers and at the full expected time for the long-day group.

Do at least one of those runs on a windy day if you can, with the second half into the wind. That is the closest match to the return leg from Gosford. If carrying six or more gels is awkward, try a belt or a vest and lean on the four course gels. If a gel every 20 minutes feels stressful, link your gels to the stations instead: about every 5 km is 21 to 43 minutes for most runners, so add one carried gel between stations. The best plan is the one you can still follow at mile 22 with the wind in your face.

Race-week Edinburgh checklist

• Download your Event Information Pack from MyRunning, about 10 days out, and recheck the water and gel station positions.
• Book event bus tickets early. The organizer expects them to go on sale around December, and there is no event parking in Musselburgh.
• Lay out every carried item, add one backup, and write grams and timing on one card.
• Note the sweeper bus pace if you expect to finish in six hours or more: about 14:53 per mile.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out, especially wind direction, and adjust layers, fluid, and sodium, not the whole plan.
• Plan your trip home: event buses are about a 1 mile, 15 minute walk from the finish, and the Musselburgh and Wallyford train stations are also about a mile away.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1Edinburgh Marathon FestivalEdinburgh Marathon FestivalAccessed 17 October 2026; 2027 festival dates and start times (marathon 10:00, half marathon 8:00)
2. 2Edinburgh Marathon FAQsEdinburgh Marathon FestivalAccessed 17 October 2026; 9 water stations, 330 ml bottles, no energy drinks, HIGH5 gel stations at miles 9, 16.2, 21.75 and 24.25, 6:30 cut-off, sweeper bus, pens, markers in miles, no pacers, bags, toilets. Some answers still show the 2026 edition (24 May 2026).
3. 32027 Edinburgh Marathon Route MapEdinburgh Marathon FestivalStart on Potterrow, route description, Gosford House turn, descent of almost 90 metres
4. 42027 Edinburgh Marathon Transport InformationEdinburgh Marathon FestivalFinish area in Musselburgh, event buses, train stations, no event parking, bus tickets around December 2026
5. 52027 Edinburgh Marathon Event InformationEdinburgh Marathon FestivalHydration and energy gel on route, hydration and nutrition at the finish
6. 6Energy Gel AquaHIGH523 g carbohydrate per 66 g sachet, glucose syrup and maltodextrin, no extra water needed, caffeine-free Berry and Orange
7. 7Energy Gel Aqua CaffeineHIGH523 g carbohydrate and 30 mg caffeine per sachet; Berry and Citrus
8. 8Contemporary Nutrition Strategies to Optimize Performance in Distance Runners and Race WalkersInt J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30747558Race carbohydrate intakes up to 75 to 90 g per hour in the longest races, practised race plans
9. 9International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for AthleticsInt J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30952204Pre-race meal and hydration framework
10. 10Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Joint Position StatementMed Sci Sports Exerc (Thomas et al., 2016), PMID 268911661 to 4 g per kg carbohydrate 1 to 4 hours before exercise; 30 to 60 g per hour during
11. 11A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup, 2014), PMID 24791914Multiple transportable carbohydrates and intakes above 60 g per hour
12. 12International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJ Int Soc Sports Nutr (Guest et al., 2021), PMID 333880793 to 6 mg per kg, about 60 minutes before exercise
13. 13Exercise and Fluid Replacement: Position StandMed Sci Sports Exerc (ACSM, Sawka et al., 2007), PMID 17277604Limit losses to about 2 percent of body mass; drinks with 20 to 30 mmol sodium per litre
14. 14Average Weather in May in EdinburghWeather SparkEnd-of-May temperature, wet-day, wind speed, wind direction and sunrise averages (1980 to 2016)