The 45th Beachy Head Marathon Festival of Running has matured into one of the UK’s biggest off-road marathon events. The two-day race programme saw just over 2,500 competitors taking part in the original full marathon, half marathon, ultramarathon and 10K races, all starting and finishing on Eastbourne Seafront on 25 – 26 October 2025.

Eastbourne Borough Council’s Visit Eastbourne Events Team promotes and manages the event – formerly known as the Seven Sisters Marathon – and the experienced staff and a veritable army of volunteers provided another memorable, if quad-crushing, weekend of trail running.

The longest race combines the 10K course with the marathon route for an ultramarathon of 31.33 miles, with 4,416 feet of ascent. Entrants must have completed a marathon in less than five hours to be accepted. There were 205 finishers in just over nine hours, as Tom Sabey (Maryport CSC, 3:51:49) from Cumbria and W35 Maria Olguta-Petre (Brighton Tri Club, 5:13:36) set the pace at the front.

The original Beachy Head Marathon featured 1,005 finishers in 10 hours and commanding victories for the defending champion Oliver Varney (Eastbourne Rovers AC, 3:02:52) and W35 Izzy Bradford (unattached, 3:33:24). The marathon course includes an eye-watering 300 steps, 14 gates, an elevation gain of 3,819 feet, and all seven of the world-renowned Seven Sisters white cliffs!

The picturesque marathon route also incorporates parts of the South Downs Way, the National Park countryside, a forest, four villages, two lighthouses and one river valley – making it one of the most scenic and challenging races to complete.

The final event on Saturday is the Beachy Head 10K, which includes climbs of just over 800 feet. Joshua Nisbett (Seaford Striders, 43:19) and under-20 junior Tori Day (Dartford Harriers, 44:16) led the way for 650 competitors in this ideal introduction to trail running.

The following morning, 662 runners completed the Beachy Head Half Marathon in six and a half hours. The winners here were Richard Strong (Lewes AC, 1:25:48) and W35 Katy Reed (Hailsham Harriers, 1:41:52) in excellent times despite the not inconsiderable 1,585 feet of climbing on this route.  

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

Photo courtesy Visit Eastbourne/Beachy Head Marathon website