The course starts off flat until the very steep hill and equally steep descent, then it's all flat. The first part of the course is on closed roads, but after about two thirds of the descent you start running on footpaths, then along the prom (pass the fully kilted bagpipe player) until you reach Sovereign Harbour when you are either running on the pavement (a friendly marshal is in place at every road junction) or the along pedestrian areas of Sovereign Harbour, before running back to the start/finish. The hill was fairly steep, and the pavement running wasn't too bad. Gummy Bears were offered at every water point.

First time running this event and quite an enjoyable time. More low-key than the neighbouring Hastings Half event but much easier course in terms of hills by far. The course starts out at Princes Park and turns right with participants running along closed roads towards beachy head. Atabout the 5k mark there is about a kilometre of steep climbing that really does take it out of your legs but it is compensated for by an even longer downhill where you can make up any lost time on the climb. This ends up at the promenade next to the beach and a straight couple of miles along the coast back past where you started and along to sovereign harbour. Twisty turny route and over the tow bridges and back onto the coastal path to head back to Prince's Park for the finish. There are 4 aid stations on the course offering plenty of water and jelly babies and we were entertained by bagpipers and troupe drummers along the way (also spotted a cheerleader on stilts as well). Plenty of helpful marshalls on the course and lots of locals supporting. Despite the killer hill, this is a mainly flat course which could produce some very quick times.

Although originally from Bermondsey in South London, I spend an awful lot of time on the south coast taking part in long distance races, so for the third time in four years, I found myself on the start line of the Eastbourne Marathon. We were informed prior to race day from the mainstream media that it would be a cold and windy day in the south of England, but the registration and changing tent was the evidence of this. Although in past years it has been a wee bit chilly, there was a warm atmosphere outside the tents and a lot of people mingling. This year's event had very little people standing in the open, a lot of umbrellas turned inside out and even the chap doing the warm-up looking relatively underwhelmed by it all. Luckily, just before the race started, the wind dropped slightly and by 10:00 Princes Park was packed with those ready to go. The race started with a loud horn and we were away! Chasing the lead car with the leading pack, the race started well for me and although there was a side/slight headwind that we were running in to, we covered the first couple of miles relatively quickly and comfortably clear of the 1:30 pacers - that was until the infamous hill that has nearly defeated me in previous years. I have said in previous reviews about this hill and although I knew what to expect from previous races, this is still an absolute killer of a climb and I was overtaken by the pacers before reaching the top. Luckily for us all, what comes up must come down and once at the top we were able to take off the handbrake, put our feet down and bomb down the hill towards the seafront. Overtaking the pacers halfway down and maintaining the pace on the downhill and flat along the seafront, I hit halfway comfortably in around the 43 minute mark and was on for a good time heading towards the marina. Approaching 10 miles, the wind picked up considerably and although the marina is sheltered by a number of flats and apartments, the gale did come in to play. Hitting 11 miles in 1:13:ish and with the 1:30 pacers further behind me then I thought, I was well on course for a good time and potential course PB. That was until I re-entered the seafront portion of the race... As we turned the corner we were suddenly hit by what felt like a brick wall. Looking out towards Beachy Head and the pier in the distance, the waves were smashing into the coastline and were the visual representation of the strength of the gust that was hitting us front on. This severely impacted our pace and in classic Tour de France fashion, the other runners around me and I were using each other as windbreakers and after looping under the underpass, headed towards the finish line still under the 1:30 mark. Raising my pace to ensure I finished strong, I crossed the finish line in a time of 1:29:30. I grabbed my medal, which was the same style as previous years just with a different colour, before meeting the patriarch of the Avery Fan Club, my Dad. This was another great race in Eastbourne and although the wind played a bigger factor than previous years, I was happy with the time and back to a level of fitness that will hold me in good stead for my marathon and ultra in April and May respectively. A great and challenging race which I recommend to anyone who wants a tough half marathon to conquer.

This was my first race at Eastbourne, and not knowing the area I didn't really know what I was getting myself into! 

The first part of the race was along the promenade and onto the seafront, past the pier. Feeling good, a little chilly in the wet weather. Lots of local support, a few bands and musicians. Then there was the hill, which was so much steeper than I'd anticipated, it Just. Keeps. Going. Happily there's a water station with jelly babies at the top, and down you go again along winding roads through trees back to the seafront. 

Once back on the promenade, the rest of the race is pancake flat. Which I did find a little difficult, there's something to be said for a few hills to keep you occupied! Support again along the seafront was great, lots of music and well manned water stations. 

Running past the finish at about mile 7-8 was a little disheartening, especially still having a good chunk of the race still to run! 

I loved the run around the marina (that's my thing) but not so much the pavements around the housing estate beforehand. It almost felt like I'd got a bit lost? But I did love the motivational signs on lampposts ("This is a lot of work for a free banana" was a personal favourite!)

The finish was slippery on grass, making a sprint finish a bit tricky, but that was more the fault of the weather. A PB and a really nice medal to finish, and a hard-earned free banana. 

I heard mixed reviews of this race from various people, but decided to give it a go and find out for myself.   Registration online couldn’t have been easier, and my number was received through the post well in advance.   

One thing that plays a big part in which races I choose to run is parking. I found a carpark opposite the race HQ (fort fun). Unfortunately i had to pay a few pounds , but on the plus side there were plenty of spaces available.

At the start there were plenty of loos, a bag drop and a few food vans. The recent weather made the start/finish field a little muddy and slippery, so I resigned myself to the fact my new runners wearnt going to look new for long!   I met up with fellow visorclub and all round nice guy Michael,and we did our best to look enthusiastic in the group warmup. We wished each other luck and headed to our starting spots .

There was a slight delay (a few seconds), then we were off onto the seafront road and heading west. 2-3miles in we hit a hill, which seems to go on forever,levels out , then raises once more to the sky! (MarsBars at the top please organisers,like BH). Once you reach the top down you go to the seafront, down onto the prom then back to the seafront opposite where you started.    Now,this is roughly the halfway point, and was enjoyable,pretty well supported and had bands, drummers, singers and various characters that raised the spirits and bring a smile. Sadly the second half is far less enjoyable, weaving a route around the harbour and adjoining streets. Maybe it would be more fun if it wasn’t wet and cold, but on this occasion it turned into a bit of a slog. Eventually you find yourself back in the muddy start/finish field, over the line and grab your well deserved (and very nice) medal. Bananas and chocolates are handed out as well, which went down well.

So , in short, I enjoyed one half, disliked the other and I would do it again but not every year. It has to be said all the marshals did a great job and were exceptional throughout .

I quoted my favourite TV show when I arrived at the 2018 Eastbourne Half Marathon.  Mirroring Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor when he hadn’t seen the TARDIS since his regeneration from David Tennant, I looked at the start line and whispered “OK. What have you got for me this time?”

It had been two years since I had been at the Eastbourne Half, and although I was in Eastbourne recently for the Beachy Head Marathon, this is a different race althogether.

Registration was easy: my number had arrived in the post and the bag drop was faultless, very friendly marshals who effortlessly stored my bag in the right area.

After hanging around in a very friendly atmosphere I made my way to the start line. Here I met fellow #teamblack member Mark Reese and we stood around taking part in the group warm up. Well we started to warm up, but then after a few seconds thought we were a bit too cool for school...

The group warm up and logistics were explained, very straight forward and although there were more plugs for the local sponsors than you’d find in a bathroom showroom, the air horn went off and we were off!

I’ve always thought that this was a nice little race, very charming and a reasonable sized field in 2016, but this year felt different.  There seemed to be more on course support, more people cheering, more bands playing and more ‘oomph’! Strangely, it still managed to retain some of its charm although this time there were more bachelors and bachelorettes trying to woo us with their supportive ways.

The ground was wet and potentially slippery under feet, so we couldn’t attack the corners as much as we’d have liked, but the pace at the front of the field was steady for the first few miles.  We passed the lovely Eastbourne pier and made our way to the climb between miles 2-3.

Now, this hill is infamous, and if you’ve never done this half before you probably don’t realise how infamous.  When you reach the bottom of the hill, you need to climb, and climb, and climb.  Then when you get to the top, it levels out and then after a few more steps you can then.... climb, and climb, and climb, and climb.  The hill is a seemingly double hill! And it was at this point that the 1:30:00 pacers overtook me.

Apart from being disheartened, I decided to actually dig deep and catch them up on the downhill.  I didn’t just catch them up, I overtook them and the result of such a steep hill is a mile long steep down hill.  The time you lose is made up there, and once at the bottom we were at the seafront.

Along the seafront, we made the long run to the pier and ran underneath it.  We were around halfway, and I had lost the pacers behind me, so was able to enjoy the cheering, the bands and the outpouring of warmth from those in Eastbourne.

This is the part of the race where it starts to get a bit quiet, but it’s still lovely to run around the marina and get some humble cheers and claps by those standing on their balconies.  At this point, the sharp turns and metal bridges underfoot had me concerned that I’d lose my footing, but I managed to get through and onto the 11 mile mark.  Seeing that I would reasonably comfortably get under the 1:30:00 mark, I decided to pull it in so that I wouldn’t do myself any damage on the wet floor.  Passing some of the runners further back the field always makes me feel a bit bad that they have so far left to go, but their cheers to us nearly finishing was lovely.

We got to the 12 mile mark, looped round and under the underpass and crossed the finish line in 1:29:24.  I got my medal and although I didn’t get a goodie bag this year (grrrr) I did manage to get a lot of sweets, banana and a cracking medal (hooray!)

After the race, I got my bag easily and waited for Mark to finish.  After a few minutes, Mark met me and told me he had got a Eastbourne Half debut time of around 1:55, which is excellent considering his aim was for around 2 hours.

The marshals were superb, made sure that the roads were safe to run on and were stood exactly where they needed to be, and I just thought this was a lovely race.

This was a good race which flew by, and maybe in warmer and drier conditions I could’ve got a course PB or at the very least a minute or two off.

Actually, maybe the slow-mo run for about 20 yards when the brass band were playing “Chariots of Fire” didn’t help with achieving a PB neither.