The Stirling Scottish Marathon, previously named the Great Stirling Run between 2018 and 2019, is a long-distance running event held in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The first event was held on 21 May 2017, with the subsequent event taking place on 29 April 2018 when the event introduced a half marathon alongside the existing marathon. After the race cancellation in 2020, the event reverts to its former name and has been scheduled for 15th of May 2022.

Overview

The event was formerly organised by the

Great Run Great Run is a series of road running events around the United Kingdom, which includes the Great North Run. Great Run is a part of The Great Run Company, which was launched by retired athlete Brendan Foster. The group specialises in road running ...

Company who decided not to renew their contract for the marathon event upon the conclusion of an initial three-year deal. From 2020, new backers Classic Run Events took over the running of the event. Directors from Classic Run Events, who organise a number of running events at various venues throughout UK, were involved in marketing the original Stirling Scottish Marathon with the aim of it becoming the leading marathon in Scotland within three years.

Course

The marathon course takes in a route through much of rural Stirlingshire. Starting in the city centre, the route covers

Doune Doune (; from Scottish Gaelic: ''An Dùn'', meaning 'the fort') is a burgh within Perthshire. The town is administered by Stirling Council. Doune is assigned Falkirk postcodes starting "FK". The village lies within the parish of Kilmadock and mai ...

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

and

Bridge of Allan Bridge of Allan ( sco, Brig Allan, gd, Drochaid Ailein), also known colloquially as ''Bofa'', is a town in the Stirling council area in Scotland, just north of the city of Stirling. Overlooked by the National Wallace Monument, it lies on the A ...

before completing a circuit of the

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...

, past the

Wallace Monument The National Wallace Monument (generally known as the Wallace Monument) is a 67 metre tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero ...

and along Hillfoots Road, through

Blairlogie Blairlogie is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland, situated at the base of the great southern rock-face of Dumyat between Stirling and Menstrie. Blairlogie forms part of the parish of the ancient Logie Kirk which lies to its west ...

at the foot of the imposing

Dumyat Dumyat or Dunmyat (Scottish Gaelic: Dùn Mhèad) is a hill at the western extremity of the Ochil Hills in central Scotland. The name is thought to originate from ''Dun'' (hill fort) ''of the Maeatae''. Although relatively small (its height ...

cliff, then back into the city centre. In 2017, the event started in

Blair Drummond Safari Park Blair Drummond Safari Park is a family visitor attraction located near Stirling in Scotland. It opened to the public on 15 May 1970 and is home to over 350 animals, many of which roam freely or are kept in large enclosures in the estate. The Sa ...

. On the official website, the marathon course is being promoted as one of the most scenic and picturesque in the world. The half marathon course starts in the city centre and follows the reverse of the marathon route, including the city centre section before picking up the picturesque

and

section of the course, heading back into the city alongside the marathon runners. Both events feature a city-centre finish in King's Park.

Marathon Winners

Half Marathon Winners

2020 Event

This event has been cancelled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event will now take place on 9 May 2021. It was previously announced on 9 October 2019 at a press conference attended by

Callum Hawkins Callum Robert Hawkins (born 22 June 1992) is a British distance runner, who competed in the marathon at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He is the Scottish record holder in the marathon and the British all-time number three at that distance behind Mo F ...

(who had flown in from Doha after finishing 4th in the World Athletics Championships Marathon) that the Stirling Scottish Marathon would be returning in 2020 Organised by Classic Run Events, the new look marathon was planned to take place on 11 October 2020. The weekend festival of running plan included a half marathon and a corporate relay (team of four) on the same day, with a 5km, Family Mile and Junior 3km Run events plus Sportside "Come and Try" sports arena organised on the Saturday. A "Marathon Expo" was to be held on 9 and 10 October in the

Albert Halls, Stirling The Albert Halls are a concert and conference venue on Dumbarton Road, in Stirling, Scotland. The building was designed by William Simpson in 1881 and opened in October 1883. It was designated as a Listed_building#Scotland, Category B Listed Bu ...

2019 Event

The event was renamed Simplyhealth Great Stirling Run, forming part of the Great Run Series of events and took place on 28 April 2019. More than 5000 runners signed up for the race and the Marathon were won by Michael Wright of Central AC, who retained his title as champion of the Simplyhealth Great Stirling Run marathon in a time of 2.29.32, with Kevin Wood of Fife AC second in 2.30.53 and Donnie Macdonald of Inverness Harriers AAC in 2.34.21. For women, Jennifer Wetton, also of Central AC was the first woman home in 2.56.05, Lesley Hansen of Inverness Harriers AAC was second in 3.04.50 and Rhona Van Rensburgh of Fife AC third with 3.09.55. The Simplyhealth Great Stirling Run Half Marathon was won by Matthew Sutherland in 69.59, with Lewis Millar second in 73.36 and Martin Brown of Kilmarnock Harriers & AC was third in 73.48. For women, Fiona Matheson of Falkirk Victoria Harriers with 82.48, Sarah Stephen was second in 87.37 followed by Rachael Adamson third in 89.39

2018 Event

Following the success of the 2017 event, the event organisers listened to feedback from runners and revealed that the 2018 event would feature a new course to take place a month earlier than the 2017 edition. The 2018 Stirling Scottish Marathon was launched by 2016 Olympic marathon runner Derek Hawkins. Outlander star

Sam Heughan Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional ...

took part in the marathon as part of his My Peak Challenge charity fundraising efforts in 2018, breaking his personal best in the process. A half marathon distance was added.

2017 Event

More than 6,500 runners signed up for the first-ever Stirling Scottish marathon where the podium placings were dominated by Scots. Scottish Olympian

Andrew Lemoncello Andrew Lemoncello (born 12 October 1982) is a Scottish long distance runner who competes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and the marathon events. He won a team junior gold medal at the 2001 European Cross Country Championships and won a schola ...

from Fife won the race in a time of 2.25.01, followed by two runners from the same Scottish club in Cambuslang: Ian Reid in 2:29:44 and Robert Gilroy in 2:34:17. Fellow Scot Lesley Pirie was the first female to finish in a time of 2:47:36, followed by Jill Smylie in 2:57:06 with Juliet Champion from south of the border completing the trio female sub-3-hour standard in 2:58:38. Former Olympian athletes

Liz McColgan Elizabeth Nuttall (née Lynch, formerly McColgan; born 24 May 1964) is a Scottish former middle-distance and long-distance track and road-running athlete. She won the gold medal for the 10,000 metres at the 1991 World Championships, and a ...

and

Zola Budd Zola Budd (also known as Zola Pieterse; born 26 May 1966) is a South African middle-distance and long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain and the 1992 Olympic Games for South Africa, both times in the 30 ...

took part in the marathon, with Zola over the line first in 3.12.24, finishing as ninth female, and Liz not far behind in 3.18.33. Prior to her re-election as a UK MP in May 2017 and becoming the first female leader of the

Liberal Democrats (UK) The Liberal Democrats (commonly referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. Since the 1992 general election, with the exception of the 2015 general election, they have been the third-largest UK political ...

in September 2019, anti-Brexiteer and gender-equality proponent,

Jo Swinson Joanne Kate Swinson (born 5 February 1980) is a former British Liberal Democrat politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 22 July to 13 December 2019. She was the first woman and the youngest person to hold the position, as well a ...

participated in this inaugural marathon, running on behalf of two health charities and finishing 396th from a field of over 1600 females, in a creditable time of 4:08:06.

References

{{reflist Sport in Stirling (council area) Recurring sporting events established in 2017 Marathons in Scotland May sporting events Spring (season) events in Scotland