Outstanding marathon. LME know how to organise events and everything on the day was perfect. The view of Brighton seafront from the cliffs as you turn back towards the half way point was a big highlight. Crowds around the town were fantastic - similar vibe to the GNR with everyone in town seemingly coming out for it. Volunteers top notch. Couldn’t really fault it.

My first marathon and cannot really flaw it. Pre-race communication excellent. Direction to the starting point well sign-posted from the train station. Race village for participants only was buzzing with energy. Plenty of toilets with some literally meter before start line. Fantastic course with spectators almost along the whole route cheering for you all the way. Plenty of water stations, with some energy gels and I believe isotonic stations as well. I was only slightly disappointed with the goody bag at the finish line, as they were only handing a can of still water and a pouch of protein yoghurt. Could improve here with little things like a banana and/or chocolate/protein bar or other little things from sponsors. Nevertheless I've enjoyed it and hopefully will be back in future!

This was my second time racing Brighton Marathon, and the overall experience was very positive, though there are a few areas where the organisers could improve. Communication was excellent, as it was last year — my race pack arrived in the post around two weeks before race day. Rather than paying Brighton hotel prices, I opted to stay overnight at a Gatwick airport hotel, which came in at roughly a third of the cost, and took the train down in the morning. The train was packed well before it reached Three Bridges, and I think the organisers should really work with Southern and Thameslink to increase rail capacity on race morning. I arrived at Preston Park at around 9:15 for a 9:45 wave start, which left just enough time to change into my race shoes, drop my bag — a genuinely smooth operation — and use the toilet in the start pen. Cutting it fine, but manageable. The course itself is excellent. There are a few early bottlenecks, but that's inevitable with a mass participation event. The first half has some noticeable hills and it got quite windy on the day, but nothing too brutal. Crowd support is strong throughout, with the only quieter stretch being the out-and-back to Rottingdean between roughly kilometres 12 and 25 — though that section offers some beautiful coastal views. Aid stations appear every two miles with plenty of water, though the cups are tricky to drink from at race pace. My main criticism is the finish area. The post-race offering amounted to a can of still water and a yoghurt recovery drink, which feels pretty sparse — some fruit and additional snacks would go a long way. The layout is also a little awkward: to get back to the station, you have to cross the course at around mile 18, which isn't ideal for either runners or spectators. Minor gripes aside, Brighton is a well-organised, scenic race with great crowd support, and I'd happily recommend it — and hope to return myself.

I love the Brighton Marathon. It's my favourite city and I use the event as an excuse for a couple of days party there, having run the marathon in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 & this year. Excellent organisation of this event. Communications from the organisers begin several months out and the race information pack drops in good time. Since LME took over the event, bib numbers are sent in the post, which cuts out the need to travel to the city at least the day before. The bag drop was particularly well staffed last year and worked faultlessly. The volunteers are unfailingly friendly and make the day a pleasure. The race village is busy but everything seems to keep moving. There are plenty of toilets tucked away in the start corrals, which help those in a last minute pee panic. On the course itself, the climbs between miles 7 and 14 can be wearing if you're not familiar with the city but the ascents are generally steady rather than extreme, with the possible exception of the hill to Rottingdean before making the turn back towards the city. There IS a steep climb right at the start as you make your way out of Preston Park however, as this is unlikely to hinder you too much, as it is the busiest point and everybody is more or less shuffling there anyway. The second half is either downhill or flat. Bottlenecks were only really an issue for the first couple of miles, although it could be that I experienced fewer of these because I'm a bit slow and running a little bit behind the bulk of the pack. Water and sports drinks stops are frequent. This year the offering was small (250ml) resealable bottles of Buxton which were collected and recycled at the end of the race. Personally, I was happy to carry mine, drain it over several miles and generally finish a bottle as I saw the next station come into view. There are also taps at selected locations if you bring your own bottle. I took a little top up and it was wonderfully cold too. If you are a decent pace, then there are lots of offerings from the public along the church road. Jelly babies, orange segments and even sausage rolls (including vegan) were being offered up this year. Those supplies might dry up if you're later getting there. The crowds are consistently excellent, with only miles 7-10 & 11-13 being relatively sparse. They are always there when you really need them. The finishing stretch is good, as you make the final turn for home with around 1.5 miles to go. You can see the finish arch with a good quarter of a mile to go and the crowds really thicken up and bring you home. The finish area on the lawns is probably the toughest part of the day, as it can get very congested here. It's still an improvement on when it used to be on the beach, which was very difficult to get away from. The broader Hove Lawns area is an improvement. Don't forget to specify if you want a medal. I tend to opt for a medal and no t-shirt. Have never had any problems with this myself, although I understand there was a bit of a confusion last year for some that didn't get their medals. Come and join the party.

The 10k starts at Hove lawns (within a fortress of crash barriers), runs along the seafront to Sussex Square then back to Hove lawns. This is a well trodden path for 10ks in Brighton. In previous years the 10k seemed a bit tacked onto the Marathon, but it's now bigger and feels like it's own event.

Personally I hate Brighton Marathon and I think I am slightly biased, but I just don't think there is much enjoyable about it. The start area is very meh, the first few miles seem to have got worse for causing bottlenecks which isn't ideal and the amount of people ducking between the cones nearly colliding with runners coming the other way is not great. The first half really is challenging with the undulation and then the back half is just the dull and dreary Hove out and back where people "go to die". However the crowds, absolutely incredible in Brighton city centre / Hove. It is just been miles 6.5 - 14 where they are a bit sparce so you need to power through, but when you hit the main crowds, they are incredible and will keep you going. The medal, absolute trash, same as last year but just pink instead - mines already chipped and I've seen some where most of the colours have already chipped off which just shows real poor quality. The lack of goodies given away at the end as well for an event of their size is quite frankly poor when you compare it to other countries who charge the same amount. The finish area is awful and a mess and the road crossings are quite frankly atrocious and dangerous for the amount of blocking up they do.

This was my first year taking part in Brighton marathon. Communication previous to the event via email was excellent and I received the bag to use for the bag drop and race number in a timely fashion in the post. I ended up staying in Crawley and got on a very crowded short form train to Brighton, it would have been nice if Southern rail could lay on some additional services, but I arrived at Preston park with plenty of time to spare at about 08.30, with the wave I was in, blue, scheduled to start at 09.57. In terms of organisation there is very little to fault, the bag drop was smooth, there are plenty of toilets, including some by the start line and communication via the tannoy system was clear. The course itself makes good use of both Brighton and Hove, there is one quiet section in the out and back to Rottingdean from about mile 8-13 but apart from that the support is brilliant. It probably not a course you are going to PB on as it is quite hilly, especially in the first half of the course, and it can get quite windy as well. There are also plenty of aid stations throughout the course. At the finish bag retrieval was super speedy. I can't comment on what the event village was like as soon as I got my medal, t-shirt and bag I walked back to the station to get the train back home. Overall I would highly recommend it.

Overall, the event was good, from the start, there were lots of toilets, easy bag drop and easy to get to the start line at starting time. The course, has a lot of out and back sections and the first 18 mile or so, shows of some of Brighton' s highlights but then has to get through Hove to make the distance up although there was support which I would imagine is better than how I understand the old route could be (a bit dull from feedback I had) so that was a positive change. It was the post-finish that I felt it was let down, there is a sectioned off finish are, but, we were shuffled out of here and told we could not stretch or sit, so that they could see who needed care which I get, but, would have like to have stretched and recovered following the run even if just for a short moment. You are then sent straight to a massive crown of families waiting for their runners, it was just a mass of people and you could barely move, I had hoped to get to the Beach as couldn't have my stretch and relax in the finishing area but couldn't get through. So, went to get the bus back to the park and ride, however, the sign for the bus I needed had come down at some point and was next to a Steward (this seemed to be a companies steward and not one of the volunteers who were great), I asked where we should go and he said he had no idea and suggested continuing walking, after a long loop, found that the buses were actually picking up from the road behind where he was stood and the bus driver said all stewards were briefed before hand. The route on the bus, also then stopped at all park and rides rather than heading to one individually so also meant a long bus ride, standing up because it was so full! Overall, it was well organised other than the post finish line which left me feeling a bit flat and disappointed!

Useful emails were sent out weekly for about two months prior to the event. Everything went alright on the day. There was a fairly decent crowd all the way round, with people gathering outside their houses in the suburban areas. Start was very organised. Could do with cones or a bit of warning for the various potholes.