A tough but incredible marathon

First of all this was the toughest marathon I have ever done, and this can be summed up in one word : wind! More of that later, though.

This is the UK's most northerly marathon, taking place on the Orcadian Mainland off the North Coast of Scotland. This is a small field marathon with about 84 finishers in 2019.

The marathon starts quite atmospherically as the clock strikes ten at the historic red standstone St Magnus Cathedral in the centre of Kirkwall (the islands' capital). You quite quickly leave Kirkwall (it is a small town) and take quite a hilly, inland route towards the small village of Finstown. The route then takes a hilly costal route round the north of the mainland finishing at Birsay village hall on the west side of the mainland.

The route itself was pretty hilly and undulating, but most of all pretty exposed and open. In 2019 there was an extremely strong headwind basically the whole way round (it was very exposed) which made this very tough going. If you know the Orkney Islands, you will know that this is not that uncommon - the islands can get very windy and there is not much shelter. The route is primarily on public roads which are (mainly) not closed but the traffic was pretty light and it didn't feel a problem.

With an open costal route the scenery is incredible, with open skies, seas cliffs and Viking Ruins, for the sheer incredible scenery (let alone the kudos of the most northerly marathon) this is worth doing. 

The route passes through some small villagers and townships and there were certainly people that came out to cheer on the passing runners. The large open roads also meant that despite the small field you could always see runners ahead and behind you.

There were water stations with water and jelly babies roughly every 5k. While there are no sports drinks or gels you have the option of having drinks or gels left for you at three of the water stations.

The route finishes at the Birsay Hall where there is food, showers, massages and drinks available (there is even a celidh later if you haven't been tired out enough), a bus can take you back to Kirkwall. The goodie bag was incredible with not only a t-shirt but beer, gin vouchers, local fudge and oatcakes. The medal was also a pretty cool piece of Viking bling!

The race, despite the rural location, was very well organised and the volunteers were fantastic, many thanks to them all.

Overall this is a tough route, definitely not a PB course, nor a good choice for a first marathon. But if you want an incredible and scenic experience the St Magnus Marathon should definitely be on your bucket list.