PASSIONATE ABOUT RUNNINGthe story behind the Brighton Marathon

COMPETITION

PARTICIPATION

COLLABORATION

WELCOMEThe Grounded Events Company is committed to securing a sustainable long term future for Brighton Marathon

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Brighton Marathon is the country’s second largest marathon attracting 10,000 runners every

year. The marathon is what we are best known for but it’s our approach to youth engagement,

our support for communities and the way in which we provide back-to-work opportunities for

local people that sets us apart. That proves we really do go beyond the extra mile.

We want every event we run to be sustainable. As a responsible business we ensure our

environmental impact is kept to a minimum and at the same time we work closely with

charities, businesses and local people to make sure the economic and community

impacts of what we do are fully realised.

Our programme of events leading up to the 2013 marathon was bigger than ever

before with around 16,000 people taking part, helping raise around £5 million for charity.

The response from the people of Brighton & Hove has always been incredible and we’re

so grateful that so many of you come out and support your Brighton Marathon.

Tom Naylor - Managing Director

ABOUT THIS REPORT

We wanted to tell you exactly what the

marathon means to our City. In this report

we set out our approach, our performance

and our aspirations for each of the

components that make up your Brighton

Marathon. More information can be found

at www.brightonmarathon.co.uk

We’ve decided to tell the story of the

marathon from the perspective of an athlete

– so over the next few pages you’ll find out

more about the event itself, the people that

sponsor us, and all the charities, schools and

people we work with all year round to bring

you your marathon.

Tell your story @brightonmarathn

CONTENTSBrighton Marathon Official Sponsors

2 - Welcome

3 - Contents and Official Sponsors

4 - Our performance chart

5 - More than just a marathon

6 - A great sporting event

7 - Getting to the start line

8 - Giving our charities a platform

9 - A wide range of impacts

10 - The next generation of athletes

11 - Mini Mile

12 - Your Brighton Marathon

13 - Course map

14 - Our future footprint

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1,000 EXTRA HOTEL ROOMS RENTED

1,400

VOLUNTEERS

ENTER I N G R U N T H E W

O RLD

4,5

00 CHILDREN 40LOCAL PEOPLE

BENEFITTINGFROM OUR

VOCATIONALTRAININGPROGRAMME

50,0

00

BOTT

LES

OF G

ATOR

ADE2 NEW

COURSERECORDS

SET IN

2013

9,500 RUNNERSIN THE MARATHON

2,000 CHILDRENRUNNING THE MINI MILE

£5M RAISEDFOR CHARITYEVERY YEAR OVER £1.6M

OF THIS GOES TOLOCAL CHARITIES

391CHARITIESSUPPORTED

£6MPOSITIVE IMPACTON THE ECONOMY

OUR PERFORMANCE CHARTcheck out our vital statistics...

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We work with a wide range of stakeholders fromacross Brighton and beyond to make sure that thebenefits the marathon provides are maximised, whilethe negative impacts are kept to a minimum.

There are significant benefits that arise from around150,000 people heading to Brighton for marathonweekend, but there are also more subtle local benefitsthat come about as a result. VisitBrighton states that allhotels are full that weekend, and that there is a knock-oneffect with more people visiting the City in the weeksbefore and after the event. All these people eat in localrestaurants and visit the City’s shops and attractionsadding over £6 million to the local economy. Brighton’sEconomic Partnership, as well as recognising the directbenefits, stressed the importance of the way the eventbrings the City together, creating dynamic volunteeringopportunities for young people, and buildingrelationships between businesses and communitiesacross the City.

But that’s not all – we give local charities a platform toraise their profile and secure much needed funding.Alongside that we promote a healthier, fitter lifestyle tothousands of local people creating significant long termbenefits to the region. Working with the City Council welook at how we can help encourage more people toparticipate regularly in sporting activity. From the

increased membership of the City’s running clubs weknow more people are running, but at the moment wethink that these are mainly people already interested insport. We want to use the power of the marathon tomake running, and sporting activity in general, moreaccessible and attractive to local people – in exactly thesame way we’ve been successfully doing with the MiniMile races and Run the World.

We also look at how we can use the power of themarathon to create less obvious benefits. Our work withJob Centre Plus and City College provided training andpractical experience to 40 local people, helping themsecure a better future for themselves and their families.And we always look to engage with community groupsaround the City to make sure that local people come outand join us on the day.

Creating a sustainable marathon means working with theCity Council to manage traffic on the day, working withlocal businesses so that they understand what will behappening, but also talking to the people of the City toensure they are kept up to speed. We want the marathonto go from strength to strength with more runners takingpart at all levels, more charities benefitting, and morepeople taking part in programmes like the employabilityinitiative. The only way we can achieve this is by workingwith our partners locally and throughout the region.

MORE THAN JUST A MARATHONBy transforming a one day event into a year round programme we provide true value to our City

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BRIGHTONMARATHON

ATTRACTS OVER 150,000

SPECTATORS

A GREAT SPORTING EVENTHosting a world class event ensures that Brighton & Hove gains global recognition as a Marathon City

This is only our fourth year so we’re a relatively newmarathon venue in the bigger scheme of things. But with times getting quicker every year – both male and female course records were broken this year – the number of runners increasing, and ouroutreach programmes going from strength tostrength, we are providing a much greater impactthan our few years suggest.

We are athletes at heart and know what other athletes want from a marathon – we’re not going to bethe quickest course, but we provide runners with achallenging route and a stunning mix of urban and seaviews. With participants from all corners of the worldwe know that Brighton offers a unique and greatopportunity for both professional and amateurathletes alike. By continuing to improve the course and our overall offer to athletes we make sure that people keep coming back year after year.

IAAF recognition We are proud that the IAAF hasawarded our marathon bronze status.This international accreditationrecognises our commitment tomanaging a professional event withathlete times and operational processes

aligned with their methodology. We will keep makingour event better as we look to turn that bronze into silver.

AmbassadorsOur ambassador scheme is our way of harnessing the power of sport. We have a mix of professional and amateur runners as ambassadors and they are there to offer our runners all the support, informationand encouragement they need to complete a successful marathon.

Elite developmentWe want our times to keep getting quicker and we wantlocal people to use the marathon as a springboard fortheir athletic careers. We work with Brighton’suniversities and elite training programmes in the UKand overseas to support high potential athletes. Aftertaking part in the programme, Brighton based JonPepper, ran 2 hours 20 minutes in 2013. The MarathonSupport Unit at Brighton University offers professionaladvice and support for amateur athletes looking tochallenge themselves or post an improved time.

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BRIGHTONMARATHON

2013 HAD RUNNERS

FROM OVER45 NATIONS

GETTING TO THE START LINEWe see getting to the start line as just as important as getting to the finish line

Running 26.2 miles is a big commitment and one that cannot be taken lightly. The hours of training,possible injuries , the doubts, even just asking yourfriends and family to sponsor you – are all difficultobstacles to overcome before you even get to thestart line. We understand all these issues and host a series of support events that help you address each issue in turn.

We partner with a range of local and nationalorganisations that all help you to start the race inpeak physical condition. Training runs, nutritionaladvice and medical support are all available to thosepeople that commit to running for themselves or for their chosen charity. If there’s something elseyou think we can offer that helps you prepare thenplease let us know.

Training runsThrough our partnerships with RunBrighton around 300people take part in our regular training programmes andadvisory service. The seminars we host are always wellattended. We also work closely with Park Run and otherrunning clubs across Brighton & Hove, and through ourambassador programme we make sure that whateverlevel of experience you have you can always findsomeone who can help. From paced runs to simply givingyou a network of friends you can safely and securely trainwith on a regular basis they’ll help make sure you havethe right level of preparation on the day.

Nutritional adviceA healthy balanced diet is essential as you go throughyour training programme. A Word on Nutrition provideyou with a step-by-step guide to what to eat and when.We’ve even worked with the City’s hotels to make surethey offer a proper marathon breakfast on the day.

Physio support Working with Body Rehab Studios, a localphysiotherapist practice, we offer discounted access totheir excellent advisory service. They can help youunderstand the pressures you are putting on your bodyand the steps you need to take to make it to the race.They even offer an invaluable medical advice servicestraight after the race, offering runners immediatesupport and helping to reduce the number of peopleneeding medical help subsequently.

The seminar days we host give you the opportunity tospeak with both specialists and fellow runners. Withover 1,000 people attending we know they’re a greatway of meeting like-minded people and forging greatfriendships – for those that can’t attend we post allseminars on our website.

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OVER1,000 PEOPLE

ATTENDED OUR MARATHON

SEMINARDAYS

GIVING OUR CHARITIES A PLATFORMWe don’t think a marathon’s a marathon without a full quota of superheroes, boxers or Baywatch stars!

There is a serious side to all this though. Through theefforts of all the people competing in the race itself,and all the children participating in the Mini Mile wehelp raise more than £5 million every year for local,national and international charities. The money raisedas a result of the commitment of our athletes makes amassive difference to the lives of many people aroundthe world.

We give every runner the option to choose a charity tofundraise for – as a result almost 400 charities benefitfrom additional funding. From the smallest localcharity that has one or two people running for them,up to our national charity partner that has over 400runners, all receive much needed funding. Somecharities ask their runners to raise a minimum amountin return for their entry fee, and this helps ensure thaton average most athletes raise over £600 for theirchosen charity. We know that once a runner has raisedmoney for a particular charity they will do so again atfuture marathons and other events.

Charity partnerEvery year we choose a national charity to be our officialpartner and for 2013 this was Scope. The team fromScope won us over with their presentation about thework they do to support mentally impaired peoplethroughout the UK. With over 400 runners in their teamwe will have helped them raise well-over £150,000which will go a long way to helping improve the lives ofthe families they work with.

Local charity partnersWe also pick four local charities to partner with eachyear. We provide a number of free places in themarathon and promote the work they do through ourwebsite and marketing giving them a greateropportunity to attract additional runners and sponsors.The four charities we partnered with for 2013 were;

Martlets - provides expert end of life care for adultswith a life limiting disease such as Motor NeuronDisease and Cancer where a cure is no longer possible.They hope to raise enough to fund two or three nursingpositions for the next year.

The ABC Fund - This local charity raises money in orderto fund trips and treats for disadvantaged children andtheir families.

Sussex Search & Rescue - are the primary volunteerorganisation supporting Sussex Police to search for, andrescue, vulnerable missing people.

Sussex MS Treatment Centre - working to improve thehealth and well being of people with Multiple Sclerosisand other chronic neurological conditions.

Visit our website www.brightonmarathon.co.uk to find out more about becoming a charity partner.

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RAISING OVER £5 MILLION FOR LOCAL,

NATIONAL ANDINTERNATIONAL

CHARITIES

A WIDE RANGE OF IMPACTSThrough their inspiring and amazing efforts our athletes make an incredible impact

Among 10,000 runners and 400 charities there are alot of amazing and inspiring stories to be told – we’vepicked a few for you.

Rockinghorse - working in Brighton since 1967,Rockinghorse help improve the lives of sick childrenacross Sussex. With around 55 runners competing in2013 they hoped to raise almost £30,000 which will allbe used to fund the work they do at the RoyalAlexandra Hospital and Trevor Mann Baby Unit.

Kent & Sussex Air Ambulance - an independentcharity providing immediate medical support andhospital transfers to people in the South East. Allthe money raised bytheir 30+ runnerswill help keep theirhelicopters flying.

Mary’s Meals - one story we cannot forget is that ofCharlie Doherty. At only 11 Charlie has been an everpresent face in our Mini Mile races and every year hehas raised funds for the charity Mary’s Meals. Bydonating his own money, and securing the support ofmany friends and family members he has helped raiseover £20,000 in just six years that has helped providedaily meals for over 1,000 children in Malawi. Charliedidn’t let a broken foot stop him this year as hecompleted the Mini Mile course on crutches!

Brett and Luke Edwards – when his son Luke wasdiagnosed with cerebral palsy Brett turned to Scope forsupport. Even though he’s always hated running Brettwas determined to raise money to help Scope supportother families. Although confined to a wheelchair thisdidn’t deter Luke’s willingness to take part and the pairof them crossed the line in just under six hours. Brettsaid it was a massive challenge and fantastic that Lukecould take part, as they supported Scope towards their£150,000 target.

I'm running to raise money for The Martletsas they looked after both my nan and grandad.

Danielle, 28

I've posted improved times

each year I've run - I want to do even better this year.

Samuel, 34

I love running and would love to be in the Olympics.Joshua, 13

my mum is running the main marathon and I want to be like her!Jessica, 11

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We’ve seen over 6,000 children get involved inrunning over the past two years through Run theWorld. Our focus is on participation not competition,with every child completing the 1km course awardeda certificate. We want to create an environment thatencourages children to enjoy sport and want to domore, and we work closely with our school partners toput on a fantastic event. This year alone we had over4,500 children taking part in events lasting three days.

The feedback we get from parents, schools and thechildren themselves is just amazing. You can feel areal buzz of excitement in the air as the runnersapproach the starting line. There are some trulyincredible stories we want to share.

Run the WorldIs an initiative that was set up to encourage children to takepart in and enjoy running. Children aged 7 - 11 year oldshave the opportunity to run a 1km course set out in localparks and contribute towards an aggregate total ofkilometres. To date the total achieved is 7,849km. Theinitiative is free to all schools and transport is provided ifnecessary. In 2013 Run the World is being offered to 44primary schools in Brighton & Hove and 23 first and middleschools in Worthing. We are aiming to cover 8,000km.

SchoolsBy working closely with local schools we hope to bringthe power of sport into education. Our focus now is onmaking sure that this leads to longer term participationin sport. We want to work with schools, the CityCouncil’s ‘Active for Life’ programme and businesses thatfocus on engaging with schools to make sure that Runthe World becomes recognised as the entry point for alonger term involvement in sport.

TransportGetting thousands of young children safely and securely to the starting line is no mean feat. We areincredibly grateful for the support we receive fromBrighton & Hove Buses and, of course, all the parents,teachers and volunteers who give up their time to makethese events a reality.

THE NEXT GENERATION OF ATHLETESThrough our Run the World programme we want to inspire the next generation of athletes

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THANKS TO RUN THE WORLD

TWO OF OUR PUPILSNOW RUN FOR THECOUNTY; CARDENS

JUNIOR SCHOOL

With the Iconiq Shlurp! Mini Mile races, marathon dayreally kicks off with a bang! There are 2,000 7-17 yearolds competing in 12 races across different agegroups, we not only give the early morning crowdssomething to cheer, but also give the marathonrunners of tomorrow a taste of what they can expect.

Races are open to both young athletes and amateurrunners so it’s a great stepping stone for localathletes. The success of Mini Mile is a testament to oursponsors, the schools we work with and thededication of the participants’ parents

Access to athleticsWe work with the City Council’s Active for Life team tolink Mini Mile into their ongoing sporting programmes.Their eight- week athletics initiative, which includes akids’ event at Brighton’s half marathon, culminates inour Mini Mile races. This means that the children cantake part in the weekly training programmes at theirschools and during the Easter Holidays before runningthe final mile to cross the finish line on Madeira Drive.Our aim is for the Mini Mile races to grow without losingthe key components that make it so special. This doesn’tjust mean more people taking part, it also means thatthrough the Mini Mile races we are able to encouragemore children to regularly participate in sport.

We now want to work with our partners to improve on our successes to date. The steps we intend will help embed sporting activity into each school, creating the link between sporting and educationalattainment, and act as acatalyst for enhancededucational programmeslinked to sport.

Elite athletesFinishing the marathon course shortly before theprofessionals does creates a strong link with elitedevelopment. Alongside our inclusive approach we willalso identify the best local athletes that we can workwith. We’ll look at how access to additional advice, elitetraining programmes and other activities will helpimprove our best athletes and make them more likely toinspire other children.

SpectatorsWe get so much feedback saying the Mini Mile races are one of the highlights on marathon day. The way the children finish their races shortly before theprofessionals complete the full course not only makesfor a great spectacle but also includes the kids as part of the event.

MINI MILEOur Mini Mile events provide a transition between inclusive sport and competitive sport

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2,000 7-17 YEAR OLDS COMPLETE THE LAST MILE OF

THE MARATHON COURSE

YOUR BRIGHTON MARATHONWe want you to enjoy your experience and so we work hard to make sure we’ve thought of everything

Minimising our impactsSpectators walking through the City will have a verydifferent experience to normal. With street closures andmore pedestrian only areas Brighton takes on a carnivalatmosphere. The seafront is jammed full of spectatorsand even shopping areas like The Laines are full ofpeople enjoying the spring sunshine.

Our waste partner, Rabbit Waste Management, followour runners round emptying the roadside skips andhelping clear thousands of water bottles. As part of ourenvironmental commitment we look to keep ourimpacts as low as possible. Just over 30 tonnes of wastewas collected on the day, over 99% of which wasrecycled or re-used.

We work closely with transport operators like Brightonand Hove buses and Southern trains to make sure yourjourney in, out and around the City is as unaffected aspossible. We greatly appreciate the efforts taken by allour transport partners to help get 10,000 runners and150,000 spectators where they need to be. The samegoes for our partners at the City Council and in all theemergency services who help make sure everythingruns smoothly.

Our Marathon ExpoIn the days before the marathon we host an exhibitionand ask all our runners to come along. Here they cancomplete the final registration process, ask any lastminute questions or chat to our sponsors, partners andcharities. We understand that for some local runners thiscan be seen as unnecessary but our main focus is onmaking sure everyone arrives in plenty of time and hasall the information and preparation time they need.

With all 10,000 runners required to register in advancethere’s a noticeable buzz in the City and many of ourrestaurants, hotels and shops respond by offeringspecial discounts to marathon runners.

Sunday morningYou’ve set your alarm, it’s still dark outside and you’vegot 26.2 miles ahead of you. But there’s excitement inthe air as you and all the other runners gather in PrestonPark. The elite athletes move to the front, Run Brighton’space setting teams begin to take their positions, andeveryone starts to find their own space. The atmosphereintensifies with everyone going through their finalpreparations. Then at 9am the race officially starts.

The professional and elite athletes set the pace but withover 10,000 runners it takes over 15 minutes for everyoneto cross the starting line. There’s now 26 miles of openroad ahead of you – here’s what you can expect;

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FREE MARATHON APP

spectators can track

runners during

race & finish time

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E

START

ELITE START

FINISH

BEACHVILLAGE

Woodingdean

Bevendean

Moulsecoomb

East Moulsecoombe

North Moulsecoomb

FalmerColdean

Hollingbury

Hollingdean

Withdean

Patcham

Preston

Ovingdean

Roedean

Black Rock

Kemp Town

BRIGHTON

HOVE

Portslade by Sea

Fishersgate

SouthwickSouthernCross

Aldrington

WestBlatchington

Hangleton

PortsladeVillage

Mile Oak

Westdene

Brighton Pier

West Pier(derelict)

Brighton Marina

BrightonStation

London RoadStation

Preston ParkStation

HoveStation

Rottingdean

A27A27

A27A27

A23

A23

A23

A270Old Shoreham RoadA270

A270

A270

A259

A259

A259

A259

A27

Brighton Bypass

A270LewesRoad

A270

A23London

Road

A259Coast Road

A259Coast Road

Power Station

BoundaryRoad

NevilleRoad

DitchlingRoad

DykeRoad

E

1

26

2

3

4

5

6

78

9

10

11

12

14

15

16

17

181920

21

22

23

24

25

B

A

AA

B

A

B

B

B B

AB

B

B

B

B

B

X

X

XX

X

E

E

E

E

KEY

Mile Markers

Toilets / Water / Medical / Fuel

Toilets / Water / Medical

Entertainment

Crossing Points

26

X

E

B

A

X

13

PARK & RIDE

Brighton & Hove Buses

run 25 buses throughout

the day moving over

5 ,000 people

THE START

Sussex and England

cricket star

Matt Prior

2013 official starter

WATER STATIONS

our fantastic volunteers

makng sure you stay

well and truly

hydrated

HOME STRAIGHT

heading for the

finish line with the

sound of the

cheering crowds

YOUNGEST & TWINS

twins Charlie and Harvey

Noakes, celebrated their

18th birthday by running

the marathon

CAVALCADE

our cavalcade

leads the runners

round the

marathon course

OUR OLDEST ENTRANT

at 77 Stella Harburn

was our oldest entrant,

completing the course

with her husband

OUR FUTURE FOOTPRINTWe want to build on what we’ve achieved so far and make Brighton recognised as a great marathon

We want to challenge ourselves and look at

how we can make the marathon better - and

how we can have an even greater positive

impact on the City, its people, businesses

and charities. We want Brighton to be

recognised as a truly great event and cement

our position as the UK’s second largest

marathon. We’ve set a few simple goals for

going beyond what we’ve already done.

OUR

COMMITMENT TO QUALITY

improving the times of

our elite athletes,

earning silver status

from the IAAF

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COMPETITION

PARTICIPATION

COLLABORATION

ELITE

ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT

supporting the professional

athletes of tomorrow,

providing access to

the best training and

industry advice

ATTRACTING

MORE ATHLETES

working with our partners

across the City to attract

more runners to

the marathon

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SUSTAINABLE

ECONOMIC IMPACT

attracting more spectators

for longer, we want to

increase our annual

economic impact to more

than £8 million

FUNDRAISING

FOR OUR CHARITIES

creating the platform

to raise more than

£50 million

for charity by 2020

RUN

THE WORLD

by 2020 we want to

have completed our

first global lap

and be starting out

on our second

FUTURE

RUNNING PROGRAMME

we want to work with our

partners to deliver our own

‘active kids’ scheme that uses

the power of sport to realise

health, educational and

lifestyle benefits

We’d like to thank all the people that

contributed to this report, but our biggest

thank you goes to all the runners that compete

and the spectators that make it so special.

For more information on Brighton Marathon

and the other events we manage please visit

www.brightonmarathon.co.uk

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The Grounded Events Company Limited3rd Floor | Phoenix House | West Street | Brighton | BN1 2RT

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