By: Brian Jenkins.

Race Date: 12^th April, 2026.

Venue: Brighton, East Sussex.

The Brighton Marathon is a run at the seaside, organized by them that brought you the London Marathon. I applied (for Brighton), and they said “yes”, very much unlike for their larger event further north.

Most of the Brighton Marathon route is within about 3 miles of the central point, and can best be described as mostly a series of “out-and-backs”.

I visited the finish line (on the seafront) with Andy Hinchliffe the day before the race and we were subjected to a stiff south-westerly wind coming directly off the sea. Seeing as the weather forecast for the following day was similar, it was clear that there would be distinct headwind during the race (with all that entails).

The race starts in Preston Park in the north of the city where the participants are set-off in 9 waves. The park provides plenty of space with a huge bag-drop (bags will be dispatched to the finish line on lorries), the coffee-sellers were doing good trade. It has plenty of toilets, and even female urinals (which a creative marketing type had named “weequals”).

First thing in the park, there were just a few clouds in the sky, and a gentle breeze. I made my way to the marshalling area for wave 3 (immediately prior to our procession to the start line), and the wind got stronger. I hoped that the wind wouldn’t be too much of a factor in the race.

Preston Park Start Wave 3

Off we went, and we were sent north to experience suburban Brighton and the first (of many) u-turns which sent us back to the outskirts of Preston Park, as I passed, wave 7 was being dispatched.

We were treated to 2 more north-south out-and-backs until, in front of the famous Palace Pier (the one that didn’t burn down) we started the easterly section of the race and we followed the coastline (past Roedean School) on a slightly up-hill section up a dual-carriageway. After 2 more out-and-backs we headed back towards Brighton and passed the halfway point.

On arrival at the Palace Pier we were sent back east, this time on a road that was closer to the sea.

On our return (after, well you guessed it, rounding a few road cones) we started the western part of the race down the promenade following the sea, and past the race finish line (at about mile 18) to move further inland (through Hove) for the penultimate out-and-back with the return leg providing a bit more variety.

We returned to the promenade and turned right (away from the finish line) and started the last out-and-back section. There was very little protection from the wind coming off the sea (and mercifully, it was nowhere near as bad as it had been the day before), but having said that, at the very last turn, the headwind became a tailwind (every cloud has a silver lining, eh?) and there was a long straight run-in to the finish with the sea on our right.

Once you finish, there is the next challenge (and I don’t mean the bag collection which was handled very efficiently): with the race village having the sea to the south, and the marathon course to the north and west, getting out is a challenge (especially with all the weary legs and well-wishers wanting to get out). The organizers response was to close half of the road (at a time) on the marathon course to enable people to cross to the other side.

Crossing the marathon route during the race.

Was it good? I must admit that the out-and-backs often enabled you a brief glimpse of other runners at a different stage of the race (I was able to exchange a few short words with all the other Striders running that day as a result). The wind itself was not too bad (certainly not on the promenade), this was mostly because of the numbers of supporters blocking out the wind (so yes, the level of crowd support is very good).

I certainly enjoyed it (well, as much as it is possible to enjoy a marathon), the course is varied, and the finish, whilst not actually on the beach, is pretty damned close.

The race was won by Sam Cook (Unattached) in 02:25:04 and Amy Harris (Brighton Phoenix) in 02:49:38 . In the non-binary category, Anna Birch (of no identified club) won in 03:08:38 .

Striders’ Results: