Brighton Marathon
This inaugural race was a huge success. A lovely sunny day, fantastic noisy crowds and a pretty fast course, made it a day to remember, and many runners are already eagerly awaiting the nod from Brighton Council to get an early entry for next year.
As it was the first, there were several improvements to be sorted for next year. The main and justifiable complaint was the lack of loos at the start. It did make you wonder if the organisers had ever run in a big race before!
I found the course to be as advertised. It had a few inclines, not really hills in the first 10 miles, then a great scenic run back down to Brighton Pier, where the crowds were quite literally deafening! This was followed by a few out and back miles through suburbs and past shops before arriving back briefly to the mega noisy seafront before heading out to Shoreham.
The turnaround was pretty bleak but this only covered a couple of miles before heading to the finish along the prom. I had to dodge one spectator at 24 miles, as the prom was still open for spectators to wander across and I understand later runners found this a pain.
Once over the finish line the medal was really impressive, t-shirt ok, and the goody bag full of cosmetics I passed to my daughters! If you didn't get the park and ride buses there was a hell of a climb up countless steps, which must have been so tough on tight tired legs, but overall an excellent day, and if you fancy a spring marathon you won't be disappointed with Brighton.
| GUN | CHIP | ||
| TIME | TIME | ||
| 62 | Mike Harper | 03:00:57 | 03:00:24 |
| 70 | Mike White | 03:03:26 | 03:03:18 |
| 169 | Chris Munro | 03:13:58 | 03:13:51 |
| 457 | Darrell Milner | 03:29:06 | 03:24:42 |
| 1594 | Aaron Kingston | 03:58:30 | 03:50:33 |
| 5669 | Chris Smith | 05:16:28 | 05:09:12 |
| 6039 | Rowena Dodds | 05:26:39 | 05:18:57 |
| 6040 | Sarah Boddy | 05:26:39 | 05:18:59 |
Photos - Keith Munro | Elle Harper