You may not have the legendary work ethic of a Minion but if you are industrious enough to be considering a springtime half marathon, Hastings could be your destination of choice in 2023.

The 39th Hastings Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 26 March 2023 from Grosvenor Gardens, St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex on the traditionally hilly course through Hastings, up to Queensway, and through Ore before plunging back down to the seafront via the Old Town.

It's an exhilarating spectacle and a surprisingly quick course once the early hills have been negotiated. The course records are 1:01:37 by Samuel Otieno (1999) and 1:11:13 by Andrea Wallace (1993).

The race organisation is by the experienced Nice Work team on behalf of Hastings Lions Club and the event's timing is perfect for preparing for the TCS London Marathon, which will be back in its traditional spring slot on Sunday 23 April 2023.

Take a look at our 2022 race report to get a feel for this iconic race that was won last year by James Baker (Chichester Runners, 1:10:12) and Rachael Mulvey (HY Runners, 1:22:18). You can also enjoy a short video of the 2022 event here:

This was the swansong event for the original Race Director Eric Hardwick MBE who stepped aside after presenting the awards and was thanked for his: "strategic planning, hard work, and passion", by Hastings Lions Club. 

The message from Nice Work is: "Our runners have been hitting the tarmac to enjoy this race for almost forty years; it's steeped in local history and grown to be a firm favourite in the racing calendar."

There's lots more race information on the event website here and entries at £33/£35 are open via Nice Work here

Don't forget there's also a Mini Run for children aged 7-16 that starts 15 minutes after the main race, so you can make this a family day out.

Previous results and reports are at runABC South race listing here

Image courtesy Nice Work on Facebook