Fantastic comeback for Brighton Marathon but organisers have to apologise for course being 568m too long

The Brighton Marathon weekend made a much welcome return after 18 months away.

Thousands of people took part in the Brighton Marathon and 10k on Sunday in the sunshine after an 18-month wait.

The marathon winner was Neil McClements, from Tonbridge, with a time of 2:33:44.34. Ollie Garrod, from Surbiton, came in second and Mark Innocenti, from Tring, in third. Verity Hopkins, from Ashurst Wood, was the women's marathon winner with a time of 2:52:11.49. Amy Harris, from Mannings Heath, was second and Lauren Reid, from Bristol, was third.

The first Brighton runner to finish was Jamie Signy in 2:52:46.52 followed by Soulla Wright, from Brighton, in 3:12:37.80. Runners from across the country and all over Sussex took part.

There were plenty of people taking on the marathon for charity, with many dressed up for the occasion with appearances from Spiderman, Batman, a rhino and a tiger among others.

A marathon spokesman tweeted: "You've nailed it! Thank you to all of our amazing charity runners who have raised an incredible £3,484,911.02 (and counting!) through our Official fundraising Partner JustGiving. If you haven't donated to someone who ran yesterday, now's your time to support them."

More than 7,000 people completed the marathon, which is supposed to be 26.2 miles. However, organisers last night apologised after discovering the course was too long.

In a tweet, organisers said: "We would like to apologise to our marathon participants that the course today has measured 568m too long. We are wholly disappointed that this has affected our runners & hope that it hasn’t marred the experience, at what has been a fantastic comeback after event after 18 months."

See below for some of our favourite photos from the day. For the full results from the Brighton Marathon weekend, visit http://ow.ly/JRpw50G8taBSEE MORE: PICTURES: Brighton Marathon 2021 | Brighton & Hove Independent (brightonandhoveindependent.co.uk)

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