Edinburgh Marathon Festival 5K 2027
The EMF 5K takes place on the Saturday of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival weekend and offers a picturesque route around Holyrood Park with stunning panoramic views of the city and Edinburgh Castle.
How Samaritans will support you
- Regular email updates and support from the Samaritans Events Team
- Receive awareness-raising and fundraising materials
- Your own personalised running vest/t-shirt to wear with pride on the day
- Supporter t-shirts and cheering materials
Why Samaritans need your support
We know that life can sometimes be incredibly tough. Thanks to the dedication of more than 20,000 volunteers, Samaritans can be there for anyone, whatever they are going through and whenever they are struggling to cope. We’re also at the heart of local communities, working with schools, workplaces, railways, prisons and hospitals to offer training and support, preventing suicide and helping people turn their lives around.
Our life-saving work wouldn’t be possible without the extraordinary generosity of our event participants.
More information
Charity place applications are now open! Please click on the 'Apply for your place' button below.
Got a question about this event? Contact our Events Team at community&[email protected] and we'll respond as soon as we can.
About the Edinburgh Marathon Festival 5k
Starting and finishing near EMF Hub at Dynamic Earth, this beautiful scenic route takes you around Holyrood Park in the heart of Edinburgh.
The route offers stunning views of Edinburgh Castle and panoramic views of the city. Runners start on Queens Drive and after 0.5km the route passes St. Margaret’s Loch before starting the ascent around the east side of Arthur’s Seat before you pass Dunsapie Loch at around 2k.
On the far side of Arthur’s seat and approaching the halfway point, runners can enjoy spectacular views of Duddingston Loch below and across the southside of Edinburgh and beyond towards the Pentland Hills with the knowledge that the rest of the route is flat and downhill!
As the route continues down the West Side of this famous old volcano you can enjoy the views of the steep slopes on your right and in the distance the cheering masses at the final turn.
The last 250m section runs back through the Start Line and then turns left onto Holyrood Gait and the Finish Line.
For more information on the event, please visit the official race website.
Incredible support from start to finish!
Team Samaritans Participant
Accessibility Information
Please read the information below about taking part if you have a disability and/or require assistance on event day.
Wheelchairs:
There are no separate wheelchair or handbike races, anyone entering the events will be included within the mass field for their respective race. Anyone taking part in a wheelchair or handbike must be self propelled for the entire race, therefore, participants in electric wheelchairs and individuals being pushed by a friend/colleague are not permitted on the course.
The race organiser will do everything they can to accommodate wheelchair and handbike users but there are also time limits which all entrants must stay within.
Please note, frame runners will not be in the wheelchair category.
Supporter Runners:
A carer, guide or any other runner in a support role is eligible for an entry at no cost. They must set up their own 'MyRunning' account and create an entry into the relevant event.
Once at the payment stage, email the race organiser using the Contact Us form here, explaining your support role and they can manually approve your entry free of charge. This must happen prior to the entry cut off date or you will not be able to take part.
For more information you can check out the race organiser’s Event FAQs here or please get in touch with our team at community&[email protected] to discuss further.