Event
Beachy Head Marathon Weekend 2026
Run 4 Cancer at this year's Beachy Head Marathon Weekend and help British families living with cancer. We have a range of free and subsidised charity places available. Simply enter your contact details below and we'll reply immediately.
- Help families living with cancer
- Subsidised entry fee
- Low minimum sponsorship
- Run with your friends
Beachy Head Marathon Weekend 2026
The Beachy Head Marathon Weekend is a two day festival of running with a number of different events including a 10 Km, Half Marathon, Full Marathon and an Ultra (52 Km).
Formerly known as the Seven Sisters Marathon, the Beachy Head Marathon is one of the oldest trail marathons in Europe. Established in 1980, the event has become famous worldwide for its incredible course which scales the largest and most striking chalk cliffs in Europe.
Irrespective of the distance chosen, all runners can expect sweeping views of Beachy Head, Birling Gap, The Seven Sisters, rolling downland and dramatic cliff edges. Few events can offer scenery this cinematic for the entire duration of the race.
Date
- 24 & 25 October 2026
The Route(s)
10K: A short coastal loop from Eastbourne seafront past the Beachy Head Lighthouse and back. With a a climb / elevetion of 823 feet, this is one of the hilliest 10K routes on the UK calendar.
Half Marathon: With a climb of 1,585 feet / 485 metres over 13.1 miles, the course starts and finishes at Duke’s Drive in Eastbourne. The route builds on the 10K course by continuing past the Belle Tout Lighthouse and Birling Gap. The course then heads North to Willingdon Hill before returning to Eastbourne seafront.
Full Marathon: The original 26.2 mile course is not for the faint hearted thanks to an elevation gain of 3,819 feet / 1,164 metres. With steep ascents and descents (some nearing a gradient of 25%), this incredible course undulates constantly with virtually no flat sections. The terrain throughout the course constantly changes too from grassland and chalk escarpments to mud banks and woodland trails.
Ultra: Ultra marathon runners first have to cover the full marathon loop before tackling the 10 km course described above. This makes for a very long, hilly and physically taxing off-road course that visits many of the cliffs, downs and coastal sections twice, With a total distance of 31.1 miles (52.6 km) the total ascent is usually 4,400+ feet (1,164 metres).
Already Have Your Own Place?
If you already have your own place and would like to Run 4 Cancer, we would be delighted! We can fully support you with a training plan and a high performance Run 4 Cancer running vest… perfect for both training in and also for race day! Just fill in the contact form below and we’ll get in touch right away! Thank you.
Apply For Your Free Place
We have a number of free and subsidised places available. All we ask is that you try to raise some sponsorship funds in support of Run 4 Cancer. We set very low minimum sponsorship funds and fully understand that the cost of living crisis is impacting people’s ability to sponsor people. To reserve your Run 4 Cancer place, get in touch with us using the form below. Many thanks for your support! We really appreciate it.
Run 4 Cancer - About Us
Set up by a team of running enthusiasts, all of whom have lost a family member or a friend to cancer, Run 4 Cancer is primarily a provider of days out and short-breaks for British families affected by cancer. We give families something to look forward to during the most difficult of times. We also make grants to UK based care institutions and support research into the positive effects of exercise (e.g. running) and how it can help with cancer prevention and recovery. Find out more about us here.
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