Rubix VT Brighton Half Marathon

Timetable

Saturday

• 14:00-17:00 | Helpdesk open near to Brighton Pier

Sunday - race day

• 07:00 | Park and Ride site opens
• 07:00 | First buses leave for race village
• 07:30 | Help desk opens
• 07:45 | Baggage service opens
• 08:30 | Last bus to leave Mill Road Park and Ride
• 09:00 | Youth Races begin
• 09:27 | Wheelchair race begins
• 09:30 | Half marathon begins
• 11:15 | Elite winners' presentations
• 11:15 | Wheelchair race presentations
• 11:30 | First bus back to Park and Ride
• 14:30 | Race site closes
• 14:30 | Last bus back to Park and Ride
• 15:30 | Car park closes

Spectators

Watching from Marine Parade or Hove Lawns enable you to see the race going both ways.

Wheelchair race

Each year, there is a dedicated Wheelchair Race marquee in race village, where racers and their families can meet before and after the race. After the race there will be winners presentations and prizes in this marquee.

Event HQ

Madeira Drive
Madeira Drive
Brighton
East Sussex
BN2
UK

The start and finish line is close to the Steve Ovett statue.

Park and Ride

You can book Park and Ride when you register for the race to make your race day logistics run smootly.

It is open to runners and non-runners, but runners will take priority to ensure they can arrive in the race in good time. Bookings are made per car, rather than per person.

Buses leave when they have reached capacity. 

Paid parking

There are NCP car parks in the centre of Brighton and there is on-street parking. There are also private car parking spaces available to book.

By rail

If you are coming from Brighton train station take Queens Road south to the seafront, turn left and head towards Brighton Pier. The start will be clearly visible on the east side of the pier.

Accommodation

Plenty of recommendations are available.

Route highlights

• Madeira Drive start near the Steve Ovette statue
• SeaLife Centre
• Royal and Lewes Crescent architecture 
• Cliff tops
• Panoramic city views
• Brighton Palace Pier
• Royal Pavilion
• St Peter's Church
• The Grand Hotel Brighton
• West Pier
• Hove Lagoon
• British Airways i360
• Famous beach huts
• Peace Statue

Route description

Miles 1-3

Starting on Madeira Drive, you’ll turn right at the SeaLife Centre, towards Ovingdean, passing regal Royal and Lewes Crescent architecture on your left. Continuing on Marine Drive and the bracing cliff tops, the race will head towards Roedean School, where a sharp turn on the road before Roedean Road will bring you back west towards Brighton, enjoying wonderful cliff top and panoramic city views. 

Miles 3-7

Picking up the pace as you run past the iconic blue railings on Marine Parade, spot Brighton Palace Pier on your left. At Aquarium Roundabout the race heads north, past the grandeur of the Royal Pavilion towards the majesty of St Peter’s Church. Carrying on you’ll loop around The Level before you head south back down Grand Parade to the Old Steine before turning right onto Grand Junction Road.

In mile 7 you’ll hit The Grand Hotel Brighton, then the course heads towards Hove next, and you’ll be able to spot the West Pier on the horizon, plus the British Airways i360.

Miles 7-13.1

Once past the two piers, you will head into Hove along the Kings Road with the majestic cream regency architecture on your right and the sea on your left.At the bandstand you’ll run round Bedford Square before carrying on along the seafront where you’ll run up Grand Avenue and back down to the Queen Victoria statue. Past the King Alfred Leisure Centre, you will run to Hove Lagoon before turning left onto the seafront. A great two mile run past the colourful beach huts of Hove will bring you back to the Peace Statue, where the race re-joins the road for the last dash to the finish on Madeira Drive. 

Cut off time

3.5 hours.

Participants of all abilities are welcome in the race. The sweeper bus will follow runners on a 3.5 hour running schedule. Runners falling behind this schedule will be asked to run on the pavement.

Drink stations

There will be four drinks stations along the 13.1 mile route, with water at each. You’ll find water stations in miles 3 and 6 and HIGH5 and water in miles 8 and 11.

Pacers

There will be pacers for 1hr 30mins / 1hr 45mins / 2hrs / 2hrs 15mins / 2hrs 30 mins / 2hrs 45mins  and 3hrs. 

As a race that delivers a fairly unique seafront running - sustainability and the environment are a big part of the Brighton experience.

The Brighton Half Marathon is working hard to become a truly sustainable race.

For over ten years this event has been recycling as much as possible from the race – all the plastic and cardboard, including the cartons used at the drinks stations. Here are some of the actions taken each year:

Sustainability summary

• Large recycling bins are hired and placed adjacent to each drinks station.
• Clear ups of the areas by each fuel station.
• Aluminium cans of water replace plastic bottles.
• Paper bags replace plastic bags.
• Electronic race guide instead of post.
• City Clean are contracted in to support on race day so that all waste from the event is removed in line with the Local Authority rules on recycling across the city.
• The event organises its own park and ride service on race day - encouraging participants to car share where possible and ultimately removing 550 cars from the city centre.
• Wherever possible use local suppliers to help reduce delivery miles.
• All lost property goes to Sussex Beacon shops.
• Even the lead safety car is electric!

Training plan

The Rubix VT Brighton Half Marathon training plan is available to download.

Start your training now! The flexible plan features three sessions each week, where you can choose the day. Print it out and tick off those training miles!

RunBrighton running group

If you live and train locally, RunBrighton is a local running group where you’ll be able to enjoy the company of well over 100 runners every week on their long training runs.

These go through to the Brighton Half Marathon and beyond to the marathon season. Membership also gives you access to a range of other benefits including seminars and workshops, on-going advice, a choice of weekly training schedule based on your level of experience, discounts on numerous local running products and services, and periodic social events.

Entry fees

First time racing the Brighton half and I was really impressed with the setup, atmosphere and location. Super flat so managed to bag my first PB in a while. I will definitely be back again next year to try and improve on this! Thanks, William C

Absolutely love this event. Spectacular views going along the cliffs and seafront and a nice tour of the town. Busy enough to feel supported but not unpleasantly loud or crowded. A few hills but nothing too taxing - the worst bit this year was running into the wind. Loved the seagull medal and t shirt. Can't wait to come back. Suzi B

I love this race and this city; always well organised with unparalleled crowd support. Thomas

A great race in a great place. The Brighton half is a lovely race, with a good few thousand runners it has a big event feel and the start / finish line atmosphere is great. The medal is also a standout and was my favourite medal of 2021. A good course for getting a PB... if the wind is not too strong - as it is a relatively flat race. Connor D