Marathon running brings people together from various walks of life (pun intended). From seasoned athletes to casual runners, marathons have gradually evolved into something both competitive and non-competitive. The Brighton Half Marathon is no exception.
Completing its 34th year in 2024, the Brighton Half Marathon is one of the first major half marathons in the running calendar and one of the most popular races in the UK.
It was started by a small group of individuals in the early 1990s. The money raised from that very first event was used to fund The Sussex Beacon, a local charity which organises the race. Today, the Brighton Half Marathon is the biggest annual fundraising event for the charity, supporting a specialist HIV care centre in the city. More than 10,000 people were said to be participating in the event this year. Some of the popular names include Barbie and Sex Education star Connor Swindells and Emmy award-winning filmmaker Chris Terrill.
For this year, the chosen start and finish of the race was Madeira Drive, which is close to the Steve Ovett statue in town. Participants ran along the seafront and past some of the city’s major landmarks, including the West Pier, Royal Pavilion and i360 tower.
Over the past three decades, the race has grown in numbers and it is now one of the largest running events in South East England and a significant fundraising event for many charities and causes. This race was no exception. For instance, Connor was running in memory of his mother who passed away due to bowel cancer twenty years ago and was raising awareness with Bowel Cancer UK. On the other hand, Chris was running for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, as well as raising money in memory of his late friend Bob Hawkins, a Royal Navy Commander.
The local newspaper, The Argus, wrote about James Power, a construction company worker who ran the Brighton Half Marathon to raise funds for the hospice charity which cared for both his partners, who had cancer. He lost his wife Natalie to stomach cancer, before losing his following partner Nickey to lung cancer. He has run the Brighton Half Marathon every year since 2020, after a promise he made to his late girlfriend. Coincidentally, Nicky was supposed to run the Brighton Half Marathon in 2019 with her best friend but was too ill and instead cheered her on from the sidelines.
Many race events, including the Brighton Half Marathon, are accommodating to people with disabilities and have a separate category for wheelchair races. In this year’s race, Illias Zghoundi took first place in the men’s race with the women’s race won by Claudia Burrough.
Thus, the event is a great representation of the spirit of sportsmanship, as we get to see people running together for different purposes and causes in peace and harmony.
