10 Half Marathons in Scotland You'll Love Running
From Inverness to Campbeltown to Edinburgh, and from Lochmaddy to Glencoe to Strathaven to Glasgow — all updated for 2025
Inverness Half Marathon
Inverness, Scotland | Sunday, March 9, 2025
Run through the largest city in the Scottish Highlands at this springtime race, known for its majestic 19th-century castles as well as for being the home of the Gaelic king Mac Bethad Mac Findláich, later immortalized in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. You’ll run long stretches of the race through the city along the River Ness, which flows from nearby Loch Ness, starting along the riverside at Bught Park. From there, you’ll run past Inverness Castle on the way into more rural areas just outside the city, before later returning back into Inverness on your way to the finish line at Queen’s Park Stadium.
Mull of Kintyre Half Marathon
Campbeltown, Scotland | Sunday, May 25, 2025
Immortalized in a song back in the 1970s by Paul McCartney and Wings, this gorgeous, windswept peninsula along the edge of southwest Scotland plays host in the late spring to a race that features stretches through the city center of Campbellton, through farmlands and golf courses, and even along the beach. It’s been named one of the best races in the U.K. by Runner’s World, and lies about a three-hour drive from Glasgow.
Isle of Skye Half Marathon
Portree, Scotland | Saturday, June 14, 2025
Surrounded by hills and cliffs that overlook a harbor where you can find breathtaking views of Loch Portree below, this small coastal town in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides plays host to this popular race, which sells out in advance every summer. You’ll follow an out-and-back route along closed roads — with truly magnificent scenery, as well as a peace and tranquility you won’t find at most other races.
Scottish Half Marathon
Edinburgh, Scotland | Sunday, August 17, 2025
A stunningly scenic (and mostly downhill) run along the shoreline of the Firth of Forth in Scotland’s capital city, through what’s known as the East Lothian Golf Coast, home to more than 20 links golf courses. The race starts at the pleasingly convenient time of 11 a.m. at Edinburgh’s Meadowmill Sports Centre, and from there heads along inland roads for the first few miles, descending as you make your way to the coastline at Prestopans Beach. There’s a brief out-and-back there, and then the rest of the race unfolds entirely along the Firth of Forth’s southern shore, all the way to the finish line where the horses race at Musselburgh Racecourse.
Two Islands Half Marathon
Lochmaddy, Scotland | Saturday, August 24, 2024
A beautifully scenic point-to-point run between a pair of Scottish villages in what’s known as the Outer Hebrides, an archipelago of islands off the northwest coast of Scotland. It’s timed for the late summer season on the island, when most other races nearby are long since a memory, with a “gently undulating route [that] is not as challenging as certain island courses,” organizers say, adding “we can however guarantee that it will be one of the most scenic races you will do all year, with sea views for virtually the whole way.”
Glencoe Marathon Gathering
Glencoe, Scotland | September 2025
You might feel like you’re William Wallace of Braveheart fame tromping through the meadows and mountains of Glencoe Valley in the Scottish Highlands, which the race organizers say is a true endurance test. “Make no mistake this is a serious challenge in a remote but spectacular location that will test your fitness, robustness and resilience to the limit,” they add, as it takes you over mountain ridges with names like the Devil’s Staircase and Aonach Eagach Ridge, where they add you’ll be “rewarded at every turn with views of some of the most stunning and dramatic mountains in the Scottish Highlands.”
Run with the Wind Half Marathon
Strathaven, Scotland | Sunday, September 22, 2024
Run through this picturesque town along Scotland’s River Avon, just 18 miles from Glasgow, at this race — which normally takes place in May, but has been moved to November this year. You’ll need to be dressed for chilly, windy weather, as the course will run through “exposed, elevated terrain,” organizers say, adding that it also features scenic stretches through woodland areas and along rolling rural roads, and stretches past the Whitelee Windfarm, where you can take in jaw-dropping views into the Clyde Valley basin.
Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running
Inverness, Scotland | Sunday, September 28, 2025
Will you see Nessie? “Maybe aye, maybe nae,” say the race organizers, who’ve put together one of the world’s best-loved running events. Some 8,000 runners come out each year to run this point-to-point race alongside this freshwater lake in the Scottish Highlands, perhaps to catch a glimpse of the famed Loch Ness Monster, but also to take in the route’s stunning views and the friendly, low-key atmosphere. It’s run at a time of year when summer is giving way to fall, so the leaves are just beginning to turn but the trees are still thick with foliage, and you can see the tops of the mountains that surround the lake off in the distance. The marathon — there’s no half — follows a downhill over the first few miles and a long, flat stretch between miles 10 and 18, a few rolling hills over the last few miles and then a finishing stretch along the River Ness.
Great Scottish Run
Glasgow, Scotland | Sunday, October 5, 2025
A gorgeous, early-fall run through Scotland’s biggest city awaits at this race, which features short runs on Saturday and the half marathon and 10K on Sunday. The race starts in the city’s iconic George Square, where you’ll be surrounded by monuments to legendary Scottish figures like Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns. From there, you’ll run through the city, passing by many of its best-known landmarks, including a long stretch along the banks of the River Clyde, before crossing the finish line later at Glasgow Green, the oldest park in the city.
The Dramathon
Ballindalloch, Scotland | Saturday, October 18, 2025
Castles, archways, forest trails, rivers and creeks – you’ll see all this and more as you run along the Speyside Way, a 137-kilometer-long walking and running trail in the Scottish Highlands, where you’ll start at the Glenfarcas Distillery and run all the way along the occasionally hilly forest tracks and footpaths to the world-famous Glenfiddich Distillery. In between, you’ll take in the gorgeous yellows, reds and oranges of the turning fall leaves, and make your way across bridges over the River Spey, whose waters are used to make this area’s famous whiskey.