The Brighton Half Marathon is changing its start and finish line from Madeira Drive to Hove Lawns.

Now in its 35th year, the race will go ahead on Sunday, March 2 from the new start line with the Youth Races now taking place the day before.

Race organisers E3 Sports Events said the move to Hove Lawns will offer the space and location to accommodate the continued growth of the event. Places at the half marathon are still available.

Affectionately known as the "happiest half", the race is the single biggest annual fundraiser for The Sussex Beacon, a charity which provides specialist support and care for people living with HIV. The event raises over £1 million for a number of charities across Sussex and the UK each year.

The junior race, open to runners aged 7-17, will take place the day before on Saturday, March 1. 2025 will also mark the 8th year of the wheelchair race.

The Youth Races are once again working with the Rockinghorse Children’s Charity. The charity works in partnership with local hospitals, respite centres and specialist services across Sussex such as The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and the Trevor Mann Baby Unit.

The event sees 10,000 runners tackle the flat, picturesque course, 95% of which has sea views. Competitors will run past the Brighton Palace Pier, Hove’s colourful beach huts, the Royal Pavilion, and Brighton i360.

The Youth Races will take place on Saturday with hundreds of junior runners aged 7-17 expected to take on the mile challenge on Hove Lawns. The chip-timed race is open to all abilities and all participants will receive a technical t-shirt and medal, plus prizes for the first three runners in each age category. 

Holly Freeman, Brighton Half Marathon Operations Director, commented: “Moving to a new Saturday start will help showcase the Youth Races in their own right whilst helping us expand the current format to introduce more races and enable more children to take part.

"Moving from its traditional Sunday start time to a standalone Saturday event makes perfect sense, whilst still being able to give young runners the experience of running on part of the half marathon course with friends and family in attendance to cheer them on. And I’m sure a later lunchtime start will be appreciated”

Emma Henderson, Support Engagement Manager at Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, commented “We are very proud to be the official charity partner of the Brighton Half Marathon Youth Races again for 2025. Any young runners who choose to fundraise for Rockinghorse Children’s Charity will make a real difference, helping us to continue supporting children across Sussex. The Youth Races are a real fixture of the running calendar now and it’s always wonderful to see so many young runners taking part and supporting their peers in the local community.”

Brighton Girls school will also be supporting the race with PE staff and pupils from the school leading the warm-up session. The school is also sponsoring bursaries for 60 paid places to make the race accessible to all, members of the school community are volunteering on the day and Brighton Girls will be providing prizes for the 30 Youth Races age category winners.