Brighton Marathon 2027: your 12-week build to April 4, on your Garmin

Your training, timed for April 4

The plan lasts 12 weeks, starting on Mon, January 11. With more time, it can start on December 14 with 4 lead-in weeks.

1. Weeks 1–3

   Base

   Jan 11 → Jan 31

   Settle volume, wake threshold up

2. Weeks 4–7

   Development

   Feb 1 → Feb 28

   Marathon pace comes in, long runs get longer

3. Weeks 8–10

   Specific

   Mar 1 → Mar 21

   Long blocks at marathon pace, 2-hour-plus runs

4. Weeks 11–12

   Taper

   Mar 22 → Apr 4

   Two weeks to arrive fresh

Four climbs by mile 11, then the seafront

The Brighton Marathon starts in Preston Park and finishes on Hove Lawns, with 477 ft (145 m) of elevation gain according to the organizer. Its four main climbs are all done by mile 11, including Preston Park Avenue in the first mile (66 ft in under half a mile), St James's Street (39 ft) and the rise to the Ovingdean turnaround (46 ft), above the cliffs.

The second half follows the sea: halfway above the Marina, Madeira Drive at mile 15, a flat out-and-back along Volk's Electric Railway past Brighton Pier and the i360, then Hove via Grand Avenue and Church Road, and the beach huts of Hove Promenade at mile 25. Keep something back for that stretch, where your pace is decided.

Three sessions for this profile

Running Workout's marathon plan is a road plan; for Brighton, ask your AI assistant to fit these three sessions into your weeks. It builds them and sends them to your Garmin watch, with paces worked out from your MAS.

• — Hills: 15 min warm-up, 6 × 2 min up a moderate hill at half-marathon effort, jog back down to recover, 10 min cool-down.
• — Brighton-shaped long run: 1 h 50, the first 50 minutes on rolling ground at easy pace, then 30 min at marathon pace on the flat, like the switch from the cliffs to the seafront.
• — Marathon pace on tired legs: 30 min easy, then 2 × 4 miles at marathon pace (77–79% of MAS), 3 min easy jog between, to hold pace along the Hove seafront.

A midwinter build

Early-April race: the 12-week version of the plan starts on Monday, January 11, the 16-week version on Monday, December 14, holidays included. January and February are run in the cold, often in the dark on weekdays; the longest run (2 h 30) falls in the week of March 8. Easter weekend (March 27–28) comes just before race week.

If you travel over Easter, ask your assistant to move the sessions already in your Garmin calendar. And if a week slips earlier on, it reviews it from your activities, decides whether to repeat it or carry on, and sends the next one to your watch.

Entry and race day

General entry for 2027 is sold out; places remain through charities. The start is in Preston Park, at a time confirmed about five weeks before race day. Cut-off: 7 hours. Minimum age: 18 on race day. Pacers run from 3:00 to 7:00. The race weekend opens on Saturday, April 3.

Frequently asked questions