Wave after wave of participants finished their running challenge along Brighton's seafront, cheered on by spectators who brought the carnival atmosphere to Hove Lawns.
With the city bathed in sunshine, the Brighton Marathon was the stunning finale to a weekend of running and activity in the city. More than 15,000 people have participated in the 2025 Brighton Marathon Weekend.
The running festivities started on Saturday with the biggest Brighton Miles yet, when more than 1,500 young runners and their families took part in a series of mile waves in Preston Park.
The Brighton and Hove 10K kickstarted today’s (Sunday 6 April) activities, with more than 3,500 participants, before the Brighton Marathon took centre stage in the city. Both events saw participants finish at Hove Lawns in the brilliant sunshine with huge crowds lining the route, creating an electric atmosphere.
Among the thousands completing the 26.2-mile course through Brighton were Emily Marchant, who managed to fit running a marathon into her hen-do and to finish in third place overall, plus friends and family running in memory of Robbie Fitzgibbon, the Brighton international athlete, who died last year.
Marathon podium place for hen-do runner
Emily Marchant finished third at today’s Brighton Marathon while in the middle of her hen-do weekend. After a 03:00 finish on the first night of her hen, Marchant found herself on the Start Line of the Brighton Marathon. The Swansea athlete soon found herself picking her way through the field and crossed the line in third place, dressed in hen-do fancy dress and carrying an inflatable doll.
Marchant said: “I got a text at halfway from my supporters saying I was making my way up the field so I just thought, 'Go for it'. I chased a few girls down and I'm just so happy to be on the podium.
"We got here yesterday, had a sports day and we've got a lovely balcony so had a few drinks there and then went out last night, so I was feeling questionable this morning! I was going to be sensible but I got excited and had fun, got in late and here we are.
“It’s my hen weekend and I wanted to do something iconic and memorable. I wasn't expecting a podium finish so it has just made the weekend even more special. And we are staying tonight so are probably going to celebrate this evening.”
Remembering Robbie Fitzgibbon
Brighton and Great Britain international athlete Robbie Fitzgibbon was due to run today’s Brighton Marathon for a charity close to his heart: Mind. In October 2024 he passed away, and his former club mates at Brighton Phoenix and father, Robin Fitzgibbon, decided to run in his memory.
Robin continued his son’s fundraising and has already surpassed £27,000 for Mind and finished his marathon today in 03:37:19.
Ross Skelton, the men's 10K winner, was a close friend of Robbie having trained with him under Brighton Phoenix coach Jon Bigg. Ross dedicated his win to Robbie and said afterwards: “Robbie was a very close friend of mine, who I used to train with, with Jon Bigg at Brighton Phoenix. So today was for Robbie, rest in peace.”
Sanctuary Runners
More than 40 members of Brighton’s Sanctuary Runners group took part in the 10K and marathon today.
Sanctuary Runners is a solidarity-through-running club which supports refugees and migrants to build relationships within the communities where they live. Formed in Ireland, the Brighton group is the first in the UK. Tim Holtam, of the Brighton Table Tennis Club, set up the group in 2024, and Brighton Marathon Weekend has been supporting them with training, advice and sessions to help them take part in the 10K and marathon today.
Four members of the club were the Official Starters of the 10K, waving participants on before joining the event to complete the distance themselves.
One was Albanian Alban Rexha, who joined the Sanctuary Runners as his daughter plays table tennis at the Brighton Table Tennis Club where the Sanctuary Runners group sets off from. He said: "I've been living here for two years and it wasn't so good for the first bit, but then I started running and I am very happy now. Brighton has a good community, the Sanctuary Runners running group and Brighton Table Tennis Club have been really great."
Thousands run for important causes
Drag queen Snow White Trash ran today’s Brighton Marathon in Drag, including crossing the Finish Line wearing heels. She was raising money for the Sussex Beacon, a local charity supporting people living with HIV, in memory of drag queen Jason Sutton, stage name Miss Jason, who died in April 2024.
She said: “It is my first-ever marathon, and I signed up to run when Miss Jason sadly passed away. I didn't run [the whole way] in heels but I did it! It was amazing, the end was tough but I smashed the time I wanted. I am over the moon!"
Kevin Webber has inoperable prostate cancer, and was told in 2014 that he could have as little as two years left to live. Since his diagnosis, Kevin has run 18,000 miles, raising funds for Prostate Cancer UK, a charity which has helped him throughout.
He said: “In 2014 I ran the Brighton Marathon on week 13 of chemo, London Marathon on week 15 on chemo and here I am still terminal and running the Brighton Marathon again and the London Marathon in three weeks' time.
"It means so much to me. Today has been awesome, so many amazing runners for so many amazing charities.”
Susie Morgan, 47, from Shoreham, was running for the Brain Tumour Charity, and said: “My best friend Amy died in January with a glioblastoma. She was diagnosed 18 months before her death. I’m running it for her and I have 25 supporters here with me, all wearing T-shirts in memory of her, so it’s really special.
“This was my first-ever marathon. It was really fun, the crowd were amazing, they really got me through it because there were some tough times. Because I had my name on my shirt, people were shouting my name, and that really motivated me. It means everything to do it for Amy. That was something that really helped me when I was training because it really helped me focus my grief to do it for her.”
Alex Sawbridge started his morning at 05:00, running the marathon route in reverse to arrive at the Start Line for the first wave of the day. He completed his marathon in 03:18:31, ahead of his target time of 03:30. He took on the challenge to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer, having lost his mum to the disease five weeks before Marathon Day.
Elite overview
The women’s winner of the Brighton Marathon was Helen Reid who finished in 2:53:00. It was her second win at the Brighton Marathon in three years after her triumph in 2023. Flaminia Gold finished second in 2:54:45, while Emily Marchant finished in third place, during her hen-do weekend, in a time of 2:58:17.
In the men’s marathon race, Sam Cook was a clear winner in 2:26:47 with Thomas Blunt second (2:34:04) and Hugh Porter third (2:35:08). It was a good weekend for the Cook family as Sam’s brother, James Cook, was second in the Brighton and Hove 10K in 31:44.
The winner of the Brighton and Hove 10K was Ross Skelton (31:26) who tributed the win to his late friend Robbie Fitzgibbon, the former British middle distance and Brighton Phoenix athlete, who died last year.
Simon Heath came across the 10K line in third place, with a time of 31:59.
It was a Brighton Phoenix women’s 1-2-3 in the Brighton and Hove 10K. Amy Harris was the winner in 37:39 with Tara Bage second (38:01) and Sophie Bradick third (38:11).
