Great Scottish Run 2026
Why running two races might’ve been easier than running one
Last Sunday, I completed a challenge I've been keen to do for a few years - run both the 10km AND the Half Marathon at the Great Scottish Run in Glasgow - and I believe that running the two races was easier than running the one.
I was keen to do the challenge as having previously done the Half Marathon, I'd seen that the start times of each race made it possible, along with the fact that the distance between the finish line in Glasgow Green and the start line on St Vincent Street was about a mile so an easy jog back before running 13.1 miles!
I'm no stranger to doing more than one race at the same event having done all 4 races in the same weekend at the Edinburgh Marathon Festival (5km, 10km, Half Marathon, Marathon) in 2014 and when you do that kind of thing once, you start spotting these opportunities at other events!
Why Two Might Be Easier Than One
When you sign up to do one of the races, it's likely that you'll have a target time in mind or want to do your best. When you sign up to do both, you're not really thinking about finish times, you just want to complete it and having no pressure or expectations can feel quite freeing and also lead to you running better than you think you will.
When you do the two races and not having a time target, there's no pressure or expectations so from that perspective, the two races can feel easier than doing the one.
The thing about this challenge is that it's more of a mental and logistical challenge than it is a physical one. The start of the 10km was 8.30am, the start of my wave of the Half Marathon was 10.44am so I had plenty of time to run the 10km, collect my bag, change my top, put my bag back on the bus and go run again.
The key is to be able to keep moving, especially between the races. I had the option of waiting for the next wave of the Half and join my wife but I didn't want to stop for too long otherwise it would've been harder to start again.
I started the 10km with the Half Marathon in mind so the intention was to take it easy. I got to the halfway point in just over 25 minutes and I started thinking that getting under 50 minutes was possible so tried to chip away at the time without pushing too hard and killing my legs.
As it happened, I finished in 49:28 and managed to run the second half quicker than the first. Bonus!
Sadly, there was no time to hang around and went straight to to collect my bag from the bus, change my top to one I'd already pinned my number for the Half to and made my back. I had plenty of time so I was able to walk and stopped off to get a double espresso from a coffee shop to give me a boost ahead of the start of race two.
With my bag back on the bus, I went to meet Allison from the train station, visit the toilet then head to the start to do it all over again.
All You Have To Do Is Get To The Finish
When the second race got underway, I had the same realisation I got when I began running the marathon in the Edinburgh challenge and that was all I needed to do was get to the finish. I wasn't chasing a time so had no pressure and was able to ignore everyone else around me and just go and enjoy myself.
In Edinburgh, I had to race the Half Marathon then meet a friend with a motorbike to get back in time to run the Marathon. This time it was different and I 'only' had 13.1 miles to run rather than 26.2!
The good thing about this race is that there are plenty of distractions. There were bands playing by the side of the road at various points on the course and there's a section where there are runners on both sides of the road so as you run out, you'll see quicker runners on the way back. Between cheering people on and looking out for other people you know who are taking part, this can be a wonderful distraction and it also helps to eat up a few miles.
As the race went on, fatigue from doing the two races began to catch up with me so I shifted my focus on getting to the next mile and tried to maintain the same rhythm I'd been running since the start. When we got to mile 10, I thought of it as 'just a parkrun to go' and started running the Perth parkrun course in my head as that's my local one and it helped a lot.
There were some wonderful handmade signs in the last few miles, including one that said "PB + U = Pub" and that made me chuckle. The cheers from the people at the side of the road in the last couple of miles were very welcome and gave me a boost. It wasn't long before I was back in Glasgow Green and seeing signs saying "200m to go".
This is a great spot to dig in and muster up a sprint finish although it was probably more of a case that I wasn't slowing down as much as everyone else rather than me speeding up!
I crossed the line and it was done. I could stop running. When you run in a race where the distance is greater than anything you've done before, you feel every emotion within the space of 30 seconds! A few tears were shed, just from having done something pretty special and the rest was just one big smile and a punch in the air to celebrate what I'd just achieved.
I went to collect my bag, put on my souvenir top, a warmer top and wore both my medals then went back to wait for Allison at the finish as well as say hi to a few people I recognised but hadn't realised they were running.
I've done the challenge so there's no need for me to do it again. Will it stop me from doing it again? Maybe yes, maybe no, it depends on how I feel when it comes to entering. I may stick with the Half Marathon and try to run faster.
Would I recommend the double to others? Absolutely! The start times make it achievable for many people, even if they aren't very fast runners. If you're able to run 10km in less than 1hr 15mins then you can certainly do this. You could even jog and walk the Half Marathon if you needed to.
All you need is to shift the way you think about it. As I say, it's not about chasing times. Find a steady pace to run at, train to run much longer distances and you can certainly do this.
If I can do it, and you're already a runner, you can do it too! If you need some help to train for it, I can help with that :-)
