The 2026 Brighton Marathon Weekend, a celebration of running and community, is officially under way with a record-breaking 1,700 people taking part in one of today’s 15 waves at the Brighton Miles.
A free, family-friendly event that is open to all, the Brighton Miles saw participants complete a mile in Preston Park – the location of the Start of tomorrow’s Brighton Marathon.
Paralympic legend David Weir was the official starter for the first wave of the day while the first-ever Superheroes wave saw children and families dressed up as icons such as Superman, Batman, Spiderman and Superwoman.
Mike Wiliamson, 34 from West Sussex, took part in the Superheroes wave with his wife and two children, six-year-old Jack and five-year-old Ava, all dressed as The Avengers. He said: “We come to the parkrun here regularly and took part in the Family Wave last year, but it was so much fun to come here today and run dressed up as The Avengers. Ava ran the furthest she ever has, and when it got hard, we asked, ‘what would Superwoman do?’ and she said, ‘keep going!' She did amazing. It’s great to get moving and it was such a happy, fun and excitable day.”
Families enjoyed a day out at the Brighton Miles, trying out a variety of give-it-a-go activities from local organisations and sports clubs, including Leave No Trace Brighton and Brighton Table Tennis Club. Particularly popular was the Green Village where children could fish-for-litter or generate power to blend a smoothie by pedalling on a bike.
Sustainability is taking front and centre across the entire 2026 Brighton Marathon Weekend, and the Miles even saw a team of ‘ploggers’ running the route and picking up any discarded litter.
This was just the warmup for the group, who will be running the full marathon distance as a team tomorrow with the aim of clearing up any cups or gel wrappers dropped on the route.
The Brighton Miles followed last night’s opener to the Brighton Marathon Weekend, the Official Brighton Marathon Shakeout Run. Following a run along the seafront, participants were treated to an evening of entertainment and drag-bingo, hosted by the one and only Alfie Ordinary.
Tomorrow is the centrepiece event of the weekend, the Brighton Marathon where more than 13,000 are expected to take part in 26.2 miles through the city, starting in Preston Park and finishing beside the sea on Hove Lawns.
Other events tomorrow include the sold-out Brighton & Hove 10K and the first-ever Brighton Trail Marathon, a new event created by trail running specialists Maverick Race who are partnering with the Brighton Marathon. It will be the first marathon ever in the UK to combine trail and road running, with the first 36km taking pace on the beautiful South Downs and the final 6km covering the final stages of the official Brighton Marathon route.
Joe Carter, Brighton Marathon Weekend Event Lead, said: “We are expecting a record-breaking 20,000 people to take part in one of our fantastic events over the 2026 Brighton Marathon Weekend and we’ve had a brilliant start with our Official Shakeout Run on Friday night and today’s Brighton Miles. The shakeout run was about bringing communities together and the atmosphere was electric while it’s been incredible today to see so many children and families enjoying the Brighton Miles, including a lot of superheroes! Now we’re looking to a fantastic day tomorrow and wish the best of luck to everyone taking part.”
