Just under 2,700 runners completed the Beachy Head Ultra, Marathon, Half Marathon, or 10K on 26 – 27 October 2024 in the Beachy Head Marathon festival of running promoted by Eastbourne Borough Council’s all-action Visit Eastbourne Events Team.

The history of this event – formerly known as the Seven Sisters Marathon – and its truly spectacular courses in the South Downs National Park and on the South Downs Way long-distance trail brings runners from far and wide back to Bede's Prep School Duke's Drive, Eastbourne year after year.

This year's torture started with the 31.5 Mile Ultra, with 4,534 feet of ascent, coming under the starter's orders at 07:30 on Saturday morning – before the clocks went back an hour. There were 227 finishers in nine and a half hours with victories for Alex Will (unattached, 4:18:49) and Sophie Biggs (The Stragglers RC, 4:47:48) – one of 22 elite endurance athletes to beat five hours.

Next to get underway was the traditional Beachy Head Marathon at 8:45am, with a mere 3,875 feet of elevation. First to be called home by ace commentator DJ Neil Povey was Oliver Varney (unattached, 2:57:14) and the first female was Amelia Karlsson (Tunbridge Wells Harriers, 3:41:52) as 1,100 completed the course in just over 10 hours.

One marathon finisher – Toby Simmons in 4:55:02 – can claim an Ultra of sorts as he ran the Beachy Head Marathon AFTER completing a 1K sea swim and 90K bike ride to raise at least £1,000 for ManKind men's mental health charity. Toby started his epic triathlon challenge at 4:45am and you can contribute to his fundraising effort at JustGiving here.

The final event on Saturday is the Beachy Head 10K which follows the marathon start and includes climbs of just over 1,000 feet. This popular race is an ideal introduction to trail running and was enjoyed by 616 finishers in just over two hours. Making light of the undulations were winners Rob Sherwood (38:09) – the only athlete under 40 minutes – and W35 Lianne Leakey (Lonely Goat AC, 46:05).

The following morning, 736 runners appreciated an extra hour in bed before the 8:00am start for the Beachy Head Half Marathon. All finishers were home in just over five hours and the winners were Ethen Strevett (unattached, 1:31:50) and Madeleine Baptista (The Stragglers RC, 1:37:22) despite the not inconsiderable 1,600 feet of climbing on this route.  

The results and previous event reports are available at the runABC South race listing here.

Photo courtesy Visit Eastbourne/Beachy Head Marathon