RacesIndependent race preparation guide

Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom · 42.195 km road marathon

Brighton Marathon 2027

Sunday 4 April 2027

Point to point from Preston Park out along the clifftop Marine Drive and back along the seafront to Hove Lawns, with nearly all the climbing done by halfway and a seven-hour limit.

Brighton Marathon at a glance

Start: 09:45 provisional, confirmed about five weeks before; Preston Park
Finish: Hove Lawns on the Hove seafront
Course: Tarmac with 200 m of block paving at mile 4.5; four main climbs by mile 11; 2027 route unconfirmed
Elevation: Between 4 and 44 m above sea level
Time limit: Seven hours, basis not stated; slower runners are moved onto the pavement as roads reopen
Cut-offs: None published
Entry: Open, general entry via Let's Do This, GBP 20 to GBP 79.99; no deferral, transfer or refund
Bib pickup: Posted in the UK; overseas runners collect in person (2026: Fri or Sat); no race-day pickup published
Aid stations: Water about every 2 miles from mile 2; gels at miles 15 and 21; five bottle refill points

Checked against the organizer's pages on 23 September 2026. Facts for the next edition can still change; the organizer's page is the final word.

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Brighton Marathon course map and elevation

Tarmac with 200 m of block paving at mile 4.5; four main climbs by mile 11; 2027 route unconfirmed. Map, elevation profile and 3D flyover.

Loading topographic map…

running direction two lines: out and back on the same road race kilometresCourse: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Flat (<5%)

Route drawn by TrailSplits from published race information; approximate. For illustration, not navigation.

What to expect on the course

About 20 m of climbing over 700 m up Preston Park Avenue, straight after the start
Past the Theatre Royal and the Royal Pavilion, then east along the clifftop Marine Drive to the Ovingdean U-turn
Halfway above the Marina, after a second turn on Marine Drive towards Rottingdean near km 18
Flat from mile 15, with an out-and-back on Madeira Drive beside the Volk's Electric Railway
West past the Palace Pier and the i360 through Hove, back along Hove Promenade past the beach huts at mile 25

The map follows the organizer's 2026 course line, the route embedded on its course page, matched to the streets; the 2027 route is not yet confirmed.

Read the full course description

A point-to-point road course on tarmac from Preston Park to Hove Lawns, with one 200 m stretch of block paving at mile 4.5. The organizer names four main climbs at miles 1, 7, 9 and 11: about 20 m over 700 m up Preston Park Avenue straight after the start, 12 m up St James's Street, the rise from Marine Parade onto the clifftop Marine Drive and 14 m into the Ovingdean U-turn. The route runs north along London Road to a turn near km 3, comes back past the Theatre Royal and the Royal Pavilion, circles The Level, then follows Marine Drive east along the cliffs to the Ovingdean turn and a second turn on Marine Drive towards Rottingdean near km 18, passing halfway above the Marina on the way back. From Aquarium junction at mile 15 it runs out and back along Madeira Drive beside the Volk's Electric Railway, then west past the Palace Pier, the i360 and the Peace Statue, up Grand Avenue and along Church Road through Hove towards Portslade, and back down to Kingsway, turning near Hove Lagoon and returning along Hove Promenade past the beach huts at mile 25 to the finish. The race page lists 477 ft (about 145 m) of gain and the entry platform 230 m of ascent; the terrain model on the map line gives about 150 m, with the highest ground in the first 1 km and nearly all of the climbing done by km 21. Water in cups is at miles 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12.5, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 and 24 and at the finish, HIGH5 Zero at miles 7, 15, 21 and 23, gels at miles 15 and 21, bottle refill points at miles 4, 7.5, 12, 16.5 and 20, and pacers from 3:00 to 7:00.

Source, licence and file

TrailSplits reconstruction of the published route. Course: TrailSplits reconstruction; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL · original source · Download reference GPX (42.9 km in the file). Approximate terrain-model heights added by TrailSplits, sampled and smoothed at roughly 100 m intervals. Buildings, bridges and small road gradients are not surveyed road elevations.Produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved.

Three decisions to make before race day

Run the first 21 km with restraint and bank nothing on the climbs

All four main climbs come by mile 11, from 20 m up Preston Park Avenue in the first kilometre to the 14 m pull into the Ovingdean U-turn. Run them evenly: from mile 15 the course is flat, so time is made up in the second half.

More detail
The organizer places all four main climbs by mile 11 and advises controlled, even effort over the early miles: 20 m up Preston Park Avenue in the first kilometre, St James's Street, the rise onto Marine Drive and the 14 m pull into the Ovingdean U-turn, with the clifftop section around 30 m above the sea until halfway. From Aquarium junction at mile 15 the course is flat and near sea level, with out-and-back stretches on Madeira Drive and along Kingsway, so the time you can make up is in the second half, not on the cliffs.
Choose your wave with the seven-hour schedule in mind

You can drop back a wave but never move forward, and the start time is confirmed only about five weeks out. If you expect close to seven hours, stay in your assigned wave: the limit works as a road-reopening schedule.

More detail
You may drop back to a later wave on the day but never move forward, and the 2027 start time is only confirmed about five weeks out. The seven-hour limit is enforced as a road-reopening schedule, with runners slower than that pace moved onto the pavement and no stated gun or chip basis, so a runner expecting to finish close to seven hours should stay in the assigned wave rather than drop back to run with a slower friend.
Overseas runners: be in Brighton by Saturday afternoon for the Event Pack

UK runners get the pack by post. In 2026 overseas runners collected on Friday at the DoubleTree on Kings Road or on Saturday at Preston Park, with no race-morning pickup: reach Brighton before Saturday 17:00 and recheck the 2027 hours.

More detail
Event Packs are posted to UK runners; international entrants had to collect in person in 2026, on the Friday at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole on Kings Road, 10:00 to 18:00, or on the Saturday at the Preston Park Information Point, 10:00 to 17:00. No race-morning collection is published, so book travel that reaches Brighton before Saturday 17:00, and recheck the 2027 days and hours in the Participant Guide, which the organizer releases through your event account a few weeks before race day.

Your race-day sheet

Even elapsed splits for 42.195 km. All clocks are local to Brighton and Hove.

Target finish time, including stops

HoursMinutes

Total stopped minutes Your start time (local)

09:45 is the provisional marathon start the entry platform lists as subject to change; the organizer says the 2027 start time will be confirmed about five weeks before race day. Replace it when your wave time is announced. Europe/London.

Time limit: Seven hours, basis not stated; slower runners are moved onto the pavement as roads reopen

How this sheet applies the limit

The organizer gives a seven-hour cut-off without saying whether it runs from the gun, from your chip crossing or to a fixed clock. The entry platform explains it as a road-reopening schedule: anyone slower than 7-hour pace, roughly 4 miles an hour, may be moved onto the pavement and continue as a pedestrian, and most of the last five miles are off public roads. Only finishers inside the official cut-off receive a medal and a result, and officials may stop runners who cannot keep up with the schedule. This sheet applies the seven hours to the start time you enter; if the road-reopening schedule is keyed to the first start, a later wave has less. No intermediate cut-offs are published.

A timing comparison, not a fitness assessment. Intermediate cutoffs, queues, weather and terrain are not modelled. Stops are spread evenly in the illustration; actual checkpoint times will differ.

ESTIMATED FINISH

13:45:00

MOVING PACE BUDGET

5:34/ km

ELAPSED PACE

5:41/ km

180 min below the modelled finish limit

Distance markers, not aid stations or guaranteed arrival times.
Distance	Elapsed	Local clock
5 km	00:28:26	10:13:26
10 km	00:56:53	10:41:53
15 km	01:25:19	11:10:19
20 km	01:53:45	11:38:45
Halfway	02:00:00	11:45:00
25 km	02:22:12	12:07:12
30 km	02:50:38	12:35:38
35 km	03:19:05	13:04:05
40 km	03:47:31	13:32:31
Finish	04:00:00	13:45:00

Training plan for Brighton Marathon 2027

A free week-by-week plan dated to this race. It starts from a stated default (weekly distance, longest recent run, days a week) that you can change; nothing is read from your watch or training history. It does not use the finish-time target above.

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Entry, bib pickup and rules

Entry:: Open, general entry via Let's Do This, GBP 20 to GBP 79.99; no deferral, transfer or refund
Bib pickup:: Posted in the UK; overseas runners collect in person (2026: Fri or Sat); no race-day pickup published

Read the full entry and pickup rules

Entry for 2027 opened on 12 April 2026 and is open as general entry through Let's Do This, with no ballot mentioned; the platform prices the marathon from GBP 20 to GBP 79.99 without explaining the lower figure on its public page. Runners must be 18 on race day, and the organizer offers no deferral, no transfer to another runner and no refund if you withdraw; personal details and the optional T-shirt and medal choices can be changed until six weeks before the event. Bibs arrive by post in an Event Pack: in 2026 UK packs were due by the Tuesday of race week, while international runners and anyone needing a replacement collected in person on the Friday, 10:00 to 18:00 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Brighton Metropole on Kings Road, or the Saturday, 10:00 to 17:00 at the Information Point in Preston Park. No race-day pickup is published, and a nominated person may collect a replacement pack with a copy of your ID, your written consent and their own ID. The 2027 collection days are not yet published.

Sources

Checked 23 September 2026; next review due 2026-11-07. Event facts come from the organizer; the pacing sheet, decisions and plan are TrailSplits' own. Independently prepared by TrailSplits, not endorsed by the organizer.

What each source confirms

2027 marathon page: The Sunday 4 April 2027 date, the Preston Park start, road terrain, the 477 ft gain figure, free bag drop, water and gel drinks, mile and 5K markers and pacers from 3:00 to 7:00.
Marathon course page: The climbs at miles 1, 7, 9 and 11 with their rough heights, the tarmac surface and block paving at mile 4.5, the route narrative from Preston Park to Hove Lawns including the Ovingdean U-turn and the Madeira Drive out-and-back, every drinks, gel and refill point, and the embedded Strava route named 2026 Brighton Marathon behind the map line.
Participant FAQ: The seven-hour cut-off, the minimum age of 18, no deferral, transfer or refund, moving back but not forward between waves, the 2027 start time to be confirmed about five weeks out, entry opening on 12 April 2026, and the posted Event Pack with the Friday and Saturday collection points, which still carry the 2026 dates.
Entry platform (Let's Do This): The GBP 20 to GBP 79.99 marathon price range, the provisional 09:45 marathon start marked subject to change, the road-reopening explanation of the 7-hour pace, the 230 m ascent figure and the Hove Lawns finish.
Brighton Marathon conditions of entry: Personal, non-transferable entries, no refund on withdrawal, the age rule, medals and results only inside the official cut-off, and the organizer's right to change the course.