RUNNERS at this year’s Edinburgh Marathon will be able to celebrate crossing the finish line with a specially designed pint of ‘Cool Down Lager’.

East Lothian Council's licensing board today granted a licence to Bellfield Brewery to operate two bars at this year’s event, with those taking part able to grab a pint from 10am on the day.

And they were told that the brewery had worked with marathon organisers to create low-alcohol beer to mark the occasion, which has been called Cool Down Lager and will be offered alongside a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers.

An application to open the bars between 10am and 5pm on the day of this year’s marathon on Sunday, May 26, went before the licensing board, with their licensing standards officer raising the point that the early start was outwith normal licensing hours policy.

However, organisers said that the early opening time, which had been approved in the past, ensured that people were not queueing up for a drink after crossing the finish line.

The bars will be sited in the charity village at the finish line on Pinkie Playing Fields in Musselburgh and the board was told that the event began with a half marathon which saw some finishers arrive at the village shortly after 9am on the day.

'Quite special'

Organisers told the board that the early opening allowed traffic to flow through the bars, adding that participants did not hang around for multiple pints.

They said: “These are runners who have been training for three or four months for this event and having a beer when they cross the finish line is something quite special to them.

"There have never been any issues of drunkenness or anything like that [at this event].”

The Edinburgh Marathon has been held every year since 2003, with the exception of two years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Originally following a route throughout Edinburgh starting at Meadowbank Stadium and heading down to the former Royal Yacht Britannia, the route changed in 2007 and starts in the city before the majority of the run takes place along the East Lothian coast, looping back to finish in Musselburgh.

The board unanimously approved the licence for the day.