Record numbers took part in the Altra Brighton Half Marathon, the organisers said today (Sunday 1 March).
They said: “Thousands of runners turned out for the 36th Altra Brighton Half Marathon this morning, in windy and wet conditions, running 13.1 miles around the city.
“The event kicked off at 9.28am with the Yeomans Toyota Wheelchair Race, followed by the main race at 9:30am, all started by BAFTA-nominated actor and award-winning singer-songwriter, Olly Alexander, who ran for Team Beacon.”
Race director Martin Harrigan said: “What an incredible weekend. The sun shone for the Youth Races on Saturday and then the rain poured and the wind blew today for the main race.
“But our runners, volunteers, supporters and sponsors were absolutely amazing. We had a record number of runners during the race weekend with over 10,000 taking part.
“A huge thank you to everyone for making the Altra Brighton Half Marathon the happiest half of the year.”
The organisers said: “Brighton-based HIV charity, the Sussex Beacon Hospice, is the owner of the race. The event is the charity’s biggest fundraiser every year and is essential to help fund the charity’s services.
“This year over 800 Team Beacon runners raised a record £200,000=plus for the Sussex Beacon Hospice.
“The race typically raises over £1 million for charities across Sussex and the UK every year, including Macmillan Cancer Support, Alzheimer’s Society, Taylor-Made Dreams, Grassroots Suicide Prevention, Say Aphasia, Venkat Memorial Trust, Alcohol Change UK and local charities Rockinghorse, Amaze and Raystede.
“In the wheelchair race, last year’s winner Josh Hickinbottom took first place in the men’s race with a time of 64 minutes and 57 seconds, followed by Liam Coffill in 69 minutes 48 seconds and Rob Smith in 80 minutes and 8 seconds.
“The women’s wheelchair race was won by Claudia Burrough in 70 minutes and 38 seconds, followed by Mel Nicholls in 71 minutes and 55 seconds and Roz Delap in 99 minutes and 54 seconds.
“In the men’s race, last year’s winner and course record holder Seyfu Jamaal finished first with a time of 65 minutes and 28 seconds.
“Second place went to Oluwatosin Adedeji, who came home in 66 minutes and 21 seconds. Third place went to Reuben Hoyte who finished in 66 minutes and 41 seconds.
“The women’s race was won by Maisie Trafford, finishing in 77 minutes and 32 seconds, followed by Ruby Whyte-Wilding in 78 minutes and 14 seconds. Third place went to Lucy Lavender with a time of 78 minutes and 44 seconds.”
Alongside the elite field, thousands of charity runners took to the streets, including Simeon Superville, 28, from London, and Jasper Superville, 22, from Brighton, who ran in fancy dress – as Slinky Dog from Toy Story – to raise money and awareness for Grassroots Suicide Prevention.
Seven fortysomething doctors ran dressed as a herd of cows. They were John Jones, 46, Peter Osborne, 46, Dominic Hughes, 45, Tom Ratcliffe, 46, Craig McKay, 44, Chris Worrall, 45, and Phil Weston, 44.
The organisers added: “The Altra Brighton Half Marathon 2026 started on Hove Lawns before sweeping east along Brighton seafront past key city landmarks such as the i360 and the Brighton Palace Pier before heading north past the Royal Pavilion and then on to the bracing cliff tops of East Brighton.
“Runners then headed back to Madeira Drive and then on to Hove Lagoon and the colourful beach huts of Hove seafront before finally heading to the finish line on Hove Lawns.”
they are a blight on this town – not seen a fit looking runner – lots of pounding and sweating underwear – all things head south in an ugly way
A record number of lack of spectators cheering on each successive marathon though. None in your photograph.
How much does the city and local businesses actually benefit from closing half the town down each time, not least preventing access to most of the city’s car parks?
The Economic Impact of Tourism for Brighton & Hove hopefully answers your question. The headline figures are that, including everything, approximately £1,400,000,000, creating 25,000 jobs, and providing roughly 18% of all employment in Brighton, based on the latest dataset.
https://www.visitbrighton.com/dbimgs/Economic%20Impact%20of%20Tourism%20Report%20-%20Brighton%20and%20Hove%202024.pdf
TWard. Clearly you wasn’t there! Despite the terrible weather there was a big crowd cheering them on. 10k runners plus the people supporting them, means lots of money spent at Brighton businesses on a usually quiet early Sunday morning. Simple to see the benefit!
I see them all going past my property and spectator numbers are definitely dwindling or I wouldn’t have noticed. Same with the bike rides. There used to be a real buzz and crowds 6-8 deep on both sides, but not any more, except at the pinch points. No full marathon footbridge for several years now either.