Brighton Half Marathon training guide

Miles 1 to 3: Hove Lawns and the city loop

The race starts on Kingsway at Hove Lawns and heads east towards Brighton Palace Pier. It turns into the Old Steine, passes the Royal Pavilion and St Peter’s Church, and loops around The Level before coming back down Grand Parade to the Aquarium roundabout. Corners and a big field make these miles crowded, so settle in rather than chase pace.

Miles 3 to 7: Marine Parade and the cliff tops

The route follows Marine Parade towards Ovingdean, then Marine Drive along what the organiser calls the bracing cliff tops. Runners turn at Roedean Café and come back west towards the Aquarium roundabout. This out-and-back is the most exposed part of the course, and the turn is a good point to check your effort.

Miles 8 to 13.1: the seafront to Hove and back

From the Aquarium roundabout the route runs along Madeira Drive, turns at the bottom of Dukes Mound and heads west past both piers and along Kingsway into Hove. After the King Alfred Leisure Centre it turns at Hove Lagoon. The final two miles run east along Hove Promenade, past the beach huts, to the finish.

Build through the winter

With a late-February race, most of your training happens in the darkest, coldest weeks of the year. Fix two or three regular run days you can keep through December and January, and treat the weekly long run as the session you protect most.

Practise out-and-back running

The course has several turns and two long out-and-back sections. Include steady runs on seafront paths, towpaths or long straight roads, and practise holding rhythm through a turn and back into your target effort.

Steady half-marathon work

Add steady or tempo blocks a little slower than 10K effort, and extend them gradually through January and February. If you are aiming at one of the pace groups, practise those efforts in your long runs rather than leaving it to race day.

Keep the running and strength work in one place. Explore MaxMile for your Brighton Half Marathon preparation, or compare the levels of personal coaching.

Start in the colour zone on your race number. The organiser asks you to stay in your zone but move towards the front or back of it to match your fitness. Your time starts when you cross the line, so do not rush the crowded city-centre loop.

Hold steady effort along Marine Parade and the cliff tops, and use the turn at Roedean as your check. If conditions are against you on one leg of an out-and-back, run by effort rather than splits. If you feel good at Hove Lagoon, the final two miles along the promenade are the place to push. Pacers from RunBrighton have run 1:30 to 3:00 in 15-minute steps.

The 2027 Brighton Half Marathon is on Sunday 28 February. A 12-week half-marathon block would begin around Sunday 6 December 2026, so Christmas and New Year fall in weeks three and four. Agree a realistic minimum for the holidays rather than stopping and restarting in January. A 16-week block for newer runners would begin around Sunday 8 November 2026.

Your longest runs and key steady sessions then fall in late January and February, in short daylight hours. Plan long runs for daylight, wear high-visibility kit on dark evenings, and taper over the final week or two in mid to late February.

Race packs, with your race number, timing chip and luggage tag, are posted at least two weeks before the race. If yours does not arrive, the help desk on Hove Lawns is open on Saturday 27 February 2027 from 3pm to 5pm and from 7:30am on race day; bring proof of entry. There are no entries on the day, and the organiser does not offer refunds, deferrals or transfers.

The race starts at 9:30am, and anyone crossing the line after 9:45am will not have a time in the results. There is no parking on Hove Lawns, and road closures start from 7am. The organiser runs a Park & Ride off the A23. Brighton station is about 1.2 miles and Hove station about 1.3 miles from the race village. The organiser asks runners to bring their own water if they can.