According to the official tourist website Visit South East England two points of interest dominate the character of the bustling East Sussex town Hastings – the sea and 1066.

As one of the medieval Cinque Ports, Hastings had a close relationship with the sea and still has Europe's largest beach-launched fishing fleet. As for the Norman Conquests, Hastings is not the precise location of the famous 1066 Battle of Hastings which took place nearby at Battle Abbey.

What better excuse for runners to visit the town that boasts Britain's steepest funicular – the 1902 East Hill Cliff Railway from Rock-a-Nore Road down to The Stade on Hastings seafront – than to enter the Hastings Half Marathon on Sunday 23 March 2025?

Hastings Half Marathon is in around 50 days and will be the 41st staging of this prestigious event directed by Eric Hardwick, MBE from 1985 to 2022. The race is now run under the auspices of the Hastings Lions, with race management expertise provided by Sussex-based Nice Work. As a runABC South featured event, you can enter directly here.

Every year up to 3,000 runners tackle the undulating course that starts and finishes on the seafront at West Marina. The route has almost 1,000 feet of ascent, with a seemingly never-ending climb out of St Leonards on Sea before a steep descent off The Ridge from Ore to the promenade finish.

Last year's 2,590 finishers (in 4:47:53) were led by Seyfu Jamaal (London Heathside, 1:06:48) and Grace Baker (Hastings AC, 1:21:13). Samuel Otenio (1:01:37) and Andrea Wallace (1:11:13) retained their hugely impressive race records. You can relive the story of last year's 40th-anniversary Hastings Half Marathon with runABC South here.

Results and previous race reports are at the runABC South race listing here.

Image courtesy of the Hastings Half Marathon website