Hi everyone, is anyone here running the Brighton Marathon this year and if so, have you run it before?
Would be interested to hear your experiences of the event from previous years, things to look out for, highs & lows!
Thanks and all the best to all runners.
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There are a few slopes in the first half, one short one soon after the start, and a longer gentle one when it heads out of town to the East. The second half is flatter. Keep an eye for the power station in that part as it is the turning point and then it's back into town for the finish - be aware that it's still quite a slog after that turn... Brighton Pier and that newish tower thing never seems to get any closer.
Crowed support was very good (but I have never run London, which I expect is obviously much better).
Both times I was lucky and had good weather, and I also ran to support the WWF, which also added to the fun.
Support for drinks etc is perfectly adequate.
I ran Brighton last year, was my first marathon and very much enjoyed it. Not much to add about the route that KL11 hasn't said. The second half has a few out and back sections, the power station section is probably the toughest bit, it comes at around 20 miles when the legs start to tell you what a bad idea 26 miles is(!) and it's a bit isolated so there aren't as many spectators to keep you going. Crown support apart from that area was fantastic.
They provide water in cups rather than bottles so you may want to think about that if you're used to taking on fluids in bottles. Takes a bit of getting used to pinching the cup to be able to drink a decent amount rather than throwing half of it down yourself. They have plenty of water stations.
Last years weather was perfect for a marathon, about 16 degrees, slightly overcast. If it's hot then make sure you think about the sun as pretty much the whole route is exposed, not any chance to keep to the shade.
Am thinking I'll run with a bottle as I'm not keen on having to drink in larger volumes at certain points.
How did you find the hill out to the east of town?
The hill to the east, I didn't really find it too much trouble to be honest. It's a fairly gradual incline so doesn't shock your legs and it's early enough in that your legs shouldn't be too tired by that point.
Took about 5-10 minutes for my wave to get through to the start line after the gun but once going I'd say after a mile or so it had evened out and I wasn't finding myself weaving in and out of people or people trying to get round me.
The power station part will be hard but I suppose we've all trained in isolation, so it's nothing we're not used to!