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May 4, 2024

Brighton Marathon Runner Comments

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Course 4.0

Organization 4.4

Spectators 4.8

Number of comments: 23 [displaying comments 11 to 19]

More Comments: [ < 1 2 > ]

D. G. from Cornwall, UK (4/20/2013) "Just gets better...." (about: 2013) 50+ previous marathons \| 4-5 Brighton Marathons COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 My fourth year in a row and will be back in 2014. Great city, organisation superb, spectators increased in numbers and a wonderful weekend at 'London-on-Sea'.
C. D. from Columbus, OH, USA (4/17/2013) "Good way to cap a vacation" (about: 2013) 11-50 previous marathons \| 1 Brighton Marathon COURSE: 5 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 We spent 11 days in the UK with the Brighton marathon at the end of the trip. My wife's father was born in Southern England, so we got to see where he lived before coming to the US as a young man. This is my second international marathon, having run Dublin a few years ago. If I were doing it over, I would run the race early in the trip as I did in Dublin. Too much sightseeing in London, Edinburgh, and Dover took a toll and I was tired by mid race. My wife, being the good sport that she is, was a volunteer and worked traffic on London Rd. The organization was great. My only complaint was the amount of time it took to clear the congestion at the finish and get back to the room. The course had some very nice sections along the coast. I would have reversed the latter part of the race with the industrial area earlier and have the last few miles of the race east of town. The spectators were great and there were people even the more remote areas. Brighton is easy to get to from London by train and I recommend it.
D. G. from Cornwall, UK (5/4/2012) "Bigger and better" (about: 2012) 11-50 previous marathons \| 3 Brighton Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 My 3rd Brighton Marathon and thoroughly enjoyed it; again. It was a little cooler this year and the tour of Ovindene in the first half has been replaced with an extra mile in Hove which makes the elevations a little flatter overall. They still have a difficult section around Shoreham Power Station at mile 20-23 where it goes very quiet. The start area was better managed this time and the finish at Brighton Pier is still one of the best in the UK .
R. C. from Wiltshire, England (4/16/2012) "Warm and friendly, but mentally challenging" (about: 2012) First Marathon COURSE: 3 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 The route itself was tricky - this was my first marathon and the repeated 'out-and-back' process was mentally difficult. The scenery is beautiful, which helped a lot. Unfortunately, miles 20-24 ish ran through an industrial estate with the smell of metal and sewage, which attracted no supporters (except for the awesome official ones) at the stage of the race when you really need them most. I was enormously unimpressed with Clif, who did not stick around to see any of the slower runners, and handed out far too many Shot Bloks, which covered the roads, making them very sticky. I cannot speak highly enough of the people of Brighton, who came out of their houses throughout the residential areas. The volunteers were efficient, kind and well-organised. I don't think I could've wished for more from them - except maybe a piggy back when my feet eventually gave up ;) This is not a slow person's marathon, and I don't think I would have picked it as a first marathon had I known how it would be.
C. S. from London, England (4/16/2012) "Solid 4 experience in a beautiful city" (about: 2012) 4-5* previous marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 4 My husband ran last year and really enjoyed it so we both signed up for 2012. All in all I enjoyed this race, and I look forward to running it next year knowing what to expect in terms of hills, etc. (I was able to pre-register at the Expo for a discount and guaranteed place). If you have made a big improvement in your running, then this is a great place to get a PB. However, if you're looking to shave off minutes or seconds, then a flatter course may be more suitable. This wasn't gruelling, but it was challenging. While I really enjoyed the event, I have the following aspects to comment about: I felt like the course could be improved to make it a better race. If there was a 3.5 option for course, I'd have selected that. In terms of the scenery, the first 14 miles of the course are fantastic. You start off in a park, head down towards the city and then out along the cliffy sea coast. It's stunning to take in park, regency architecture, city, sea front and cliffs in the space of 10 miles! In 2012, there was a significant cross wind, which made parts of the first half very challenging. Also, the course is a lot more hilly than I was expecting. There weren't any major, major climbs, but the first half is certainly not flat, and with the wind it made for a big challenge. I started too fast and paid for it later! The second half of the course was a lot more disappointing. You head out from the main seafront area towards about 5 miles of residential back and forth. While the crowd support here was very good, it felt like a long out and back along a boring stretch. This out and back stretch was followed by yet another out and back stretch that was even worse, out towards an industrial site. While again, the crowd support here was substantial considering where it was, it's just an awful place to be spending the most challenging miles of the marathon, especially because it was preceded by another boring stretch. The final miles take you back along the sea front into the city centre, which was well supported by crowds and made for a great finish. I wish they'd make the finish line much more visible from afar with balloons or something, because you can't really sea it until you're 200 m away. It is hard to plan a course in a city like Brighton, where there are hills and lots of residential areas, but I think they could work on removing the industrial site, or else putting it earlier on in the race where it doesn't feel so demoralising, or providing better entertainment there. You need some uplift at those miles! The organisation, on the other hand, was fantastic. The start at the park was as smooth as butter. There were more than enough sport drinks, water stations, gels, etc., which I was really impressed with given the small number of competitors. The app was incredible, and I was able to change my number at the last minute to move ahead a corral and everything worked fine. I think they could improve the entertainment along the course, especially at the end. That would make up for some of the more dreary parts of the course. The fans were incredible. Lots of LOUD cheering that really helped, especially at the end. I'll stop short of giving them a 5, because it's not London or Berlin, but for a small city and a cold/windy day, they were fantastic! I love Brighton as a city, and I really enjoyed running there for the first 16 of the 26 miles. I think knowing what to expect, I'll enjoy it even more next year.
D. G. from Cornwall, UK (1/5/2012) "Back in 2012" (about: 2011) 11-50 previous marathons \| 2 Brighton Marathons COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 Very hot day for the 2nd Brighton Marathon, similar to 2010. However, great crowd cheering us on and a much improved final 3 miles across the front as we had a path blocked out for us this year. Fairly flat for the most part and very picturesque. Nice finish area at the Pier (where else ?)
J. B. from Essex/Herts, UK (4/27/2011) "Great 1st Marathon" (about: 2011) 1 previous marathon \| 1 Brighton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 5 Great day, great weather (if a tad hot), fab crowd. Only complaint: not enough Clif Shot Bloks at mile 12; none were left by the time I got there with the 5-hour pacer (fab pro Clif Bar pacers!), though plenty were left at mile 18, though. :) Can't wait for next year!
k. f. from London, Uk (4/18/2011) "Great medium-size marathon!" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Brighton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 5 FANS: 5 I ran the race this year, and it had superb organization. Bottles of water were handed out as well as PowerAde, and thanks to amazing weather on race day, Brighton was jam-packed with spectators who cheered us on all the way to the finish. I would definitely recommend this race if you're trying to run a PB (there are just few minor inclines). Having run big marathons before, I enjoyed not dodging people - and I still found a great atmosphere.
S. S. from Warlingham, Surrey (4/18/2011) "Very good event but needs some small improvements" (about: 2011) 4-5 previous marathons \| 1 Brighton Marathon COURSE: 4 ORGANIZATION: 4 FANS: 4 This was only the second running of the Brighton Marathon and for a new event it is very well organised. There are a few minor improvements required to take this event to the next level. The course is generally good with undulations in the first half and being relatively flat for the second half. The residential area from mile 15 - 18 is a little dull but the spectators are enthusiastic, and a big thank you to the man hosing the runners down as it was a hot day with little or no shade. The loop around the power station is very quiet which is not the best thing for runners at that stage. The DJ did his best but you could see that a lot of runners were struggling with the conditions and could have done with a lift. The organisation is good and you can see that the event has taken some ideas from other major city marathons. However, I would have preferred the start area to have been for runners only as it did get crowded as start time approached. The start corrals were not strictly marshalled and the baggage trucks should close at least 30 minutes before the start to avoid the last minute rush. The amount of wasted Powerade on the course was a concern. Perhaps take a tip from London and hand out smaller bottles, say 330ml instead of 500ml and it would be useful if the drinks could have been cold, particularly in the later stages, not sure how this could be done but it probably would have cut down on waste. The showers were good and as it was a warm day maybe another couple could have been included. The finish area needs more organisation. You have a foil blanket wrapped around you but it would be nice to include a sticker to keep it together as trying to keep the blanket on whilst carrying your kit bag and goody bag is almost impossible. Once the runners left the finish area you walked into a wall of people just hanging about waiting for their runner. The last thing that I want to do after running 26.2 miles is fight through a crowd of people to meet my family as I had arranged to meet them away from the finish area. This area should be marshalled better with a clear route for the runners to make their way back to the city centre. There needs to be more crossing points on the course for spectators, particularly in the last few miles, as this would also help runners leaving the finish area. The medal is very nice and the finisher t-shirts were available in sizes small - XL which beats the one size fits all attitude of London. The results page on the website is confusing. The finishing position is shown as race time and not CHIP time. Surely your position in the field should be decided by the time you have run and not the order you went through the start? The spectators were very enthusiastic and really supported all the runners. The fact that it was hot, sunny day probably helped with spectator numbers. A big thank you to all the volunteers, without who the event just wouldn't work, who were excellent throughout the day. This is still a fledgling event but I feel that it will become very popular in the next few years and by making a few changes here and there will continue to grow. I just hope the event doesn't try and become too big and keeps runner numbers to a manageable level. I have already signed up for 2012!

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