How Brighton Marathon’s saviours plan to boost big race – now and in the future

London Marathon Events (LME) took over the running of the marathon in December 2022 after the previous owners, Grounded Events, went into administration.

The first change they have made for this year’s race – which takes place on Sunday, April 2 – is to keep the route closer to the city to make it more supporter and runner friendly.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Brighton Marathon Weekend, said: “These changes are the start of a new, exciting era for the Brighton Marathon Weekend.

"We haven’t had a huge amount of time to make changes for 2023 but, by tweaking the routes and creating a new finish line experience, we believe that we will provide a much-improved experience for participants and spectators.”

Two events will be taking place on April 2 with the BM10K starting at 9AMam, 45 minutes before the marathon.

Hove Lawns will host the finishing line for the marathon, which starts at Preston Park. The BM10K will start and finish at Hove Lawns with the route going eastwards along the coast.

The marathon route now takes runners through Withdean and Kemptown before following the coast to Ovingdean and returning for the last stretch to Hove.

Under the previous ownership the Brighton Marathon had attracted controversy with late or non-payments to runners and stakeholders in the event.

Brasher has been pleased with the response they have received taking over. He said: “Brighton, the community and the stakeholders have been really helpful and encouraging. The goodwill that we have received from stepping in so late in the day has been fantastic, we couldn’t do it without that goodwill.”

LME run several events around the UK, including the TSC London Marathon and the Vitality London 10’000.

The Brighton Marathon Weekend has now been added to that list and Brasher explained why the company stepped in when the Brighton event was in trouble.

He said: “The Brighton Marathon was the third biggest marathon in the country, it was enjoyed by tens of thousands of people over a number of years. We felt we should do everything we could to try and save what had grown to be an incredible event. We are all about inspiring activity, doing it in this great city and across the UK is what London Marathon Events is about.”

With the event now only a month away there are still places available in the BM10K if you want to take part. The registration is £35 per participant.

The Brighton Marathon Weekend kicks off on April 1 with the free youth event the Mini Mile. Guardians can register young people in school years 3-12.

All the details of how to enter can be found on www.brightonmarathonweekend.co.uk

If running is not your thing but you still want to be a part of the weekend, the organisers are still recruiting volunteers. For more details on signing up please visit the community section of the Brighton Marathon Weekend website.

Spectators attending can expect bands and music on the day, but the real focus will be on the runners. There will be an app available so people can track runners and move around the course to support them. The new course design also means that runners will have more support all of the way around as they look to complete the 26.2 mile challenge. Brasher said: “We know that Brighton will come out and the spectators will be fantastic.”

LME have not yet announced what the future plans are for the Brighton Marathon Weekend, only that they want to use it to amplify what is great about Brighton and make it one of the best mass participation events in the UK. Plans are currently in the works and will be released at a later date.