Brighton Marathon 2027 fueling guide: water stations, HIGH5 gels, sea-front wind, and a plan for every finish time

The Brighton Marathon is on Sunday, 4 April 2027, from Preston Park, with a seven-hour cut-off. Last edition, water came in cups every 2 miles (3.2 km), a sugar-free HIGH5 electrolyte drink was served at four points, and HIGH5 Energy Gel Aqua was handed out at only two: mile 15 (24.1 km) and mile 21 (33.8 km). Two gels give you 46 g of carbohydrate in total, which is less than one hour of fuel for most runners. So most of what you eat has to come with you to the start. This guide sets out what the organiser has published, when you will reach each station at your pace, and three plans to choose from.

Two things catch Brighton runners out. The first is the drink. HIGH5 Zero replaces some salt, but it has no carbohydrate, so it is not a sports drink in the fuel sense. The second is the start. Waves set off between 9:45 and 10:37 last year, which is later than many training runs, and slower runners are still on the seafront in the afternoon, in whatever wind the Channel brings. The organiser says 2027 start times will be confirmed about five weeks before race day, and the 2027 participant guide is not out yet. Station details below come from the official course page and the 2026 event guide. Recheck them in race week.

Brighton Marathon 2027: the confirmed race facts

Seven hours is an average of about 9:57 per km, or 16:01 per mile, from when you cross the start line. The 2026 guide says you can run, jog or walk, but if you cannot hold seven-hour pace you will be asked to move to the pavement, and staff will walk with you to the finish. You can drop back to a later wave on the day but not move forward. If you are close to the limit, the biggest risk is a late slump from under-eating, not the clock in the first half.

Brighton Marathon water stations, gels and drinks

The organiser calls them drinks stations. Volunteers hand out cups, all stations are wheelchair accessible, and there are bins for gel wrappers and cups at each one. The 2026 guide also encourages runners to carry a bottle belt or hydration vest and use the five refill points. At the finish, last edition’s guide lists a can of water and a GetPRO protein pouch after the medal.

Two things on that list need care. First, HIGH5 Zero. HIGH5 describes it as a sugar-free electrolyte drink with zero calories, containing sodium, magnesium and potassium. It helps with salt, but it adds no fuel, so count it as water in your carb plan. HIGH5 recommends one tablet per 750 ml, but the strength served on course and its sodium per cup are not published. Second, the gel. Energy Gel Aqua is a thin, drink-like gel with 23 g of carbohydrate, made from glucose syrup and maltodextrin, with no caffeine. If you have not used it in training, try it before April or carry your own instead.

When you will reach each station at your pace

The table shows elapsed time from crossing the start line at an even pace. Brighton has climbs at miles 1, 7, 9 and 11, so expect to be a minute or two behind these times through mile 13 and to gain it back on the flatter second half. Add your wave start time to get the clock time. Last edition, a runner in the final 10:37 wave aiming for seven hours would finish around 17:37.

Water stations 2 miles apart come about every 14 minutes for a 3:00 runner, every 18 minutes at 4:00, and every 27 minutes at 6:00. The longest gap is 2.5 miles, from mile 10 to mile 12.5, which includes the Ovingdean U-turn. The two course gels are 6 miles apart: 41 minutes for a 3:00 runner, 55 minutes at 4:00, and 82 minutes at 6:00. That is why the course gels can only ever be part of the plan.

Pick your plan: three runner profiles

World Athletics’ consensus statement gives 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour as the usual marathon range, and its companion paper on distance runners suggests trained runners try up to 90 g per hour in events longer than about two and a half hours. Research on multiple transportable carbohydrates shows that intakes above 60 g per hour are only absorbed well when the product mixes glucose and fructose and the gut has been trained for it. The course gel is glucose and maltodextrin only, which is fine at moderate intakes. With 25 g gels, one every 30 minutes gives 50 g per hour, every 25 minutes gives 60 g, and every 20 minutes gives 75 g.

Racing it: at 75 g per hour, a 3:00 race needs about 225 g. The two course gels give 46 g, so you carry about seven 25 g gels; at 3:15 you carry about eight. If you are aiming for 90 g per hour, carry your own glucose-fructose gels for the whole race, because two course gels will not move the total much. Build your number over eight to ten weeks of long runs, starting at 60 g and adding 10 to 15 g every second week while your stomach stays quiet. The early climbs make the first 11 miles feel harder than the pace says, so take the first gel by mile 4 rather than waiting to feel you need it.

Steady marathon: think in grams. A 4:00 race at 60 g per hour is 240 g. Take away the two course gels and you need about 194 g, or eight 25 g gels, in your pockets or belt. At 4:30 the same rate is 270 g, so carry about nine. Write the grams next to each item and total each hour. The Zero cups do not count toward that total.

Long day: six or seven hours on your feet changes the math. Fifty grams per hour over six hours is 300 g. The course gives 46 g, so you need about ten gels or the same carbohydrate as chews or sweets you have tested. At 7:00 and 40 g per hour you need about 280 g, around nine to ten carried gels. Your second half runs well into the afternoon, and the Hove supporters handing out sweets around miles 20 to 23 are welcome, but they are not an official station, so do not build your plan on them.

Caffeine, sodium, and HIGH5 Zero

• Caffeine: the ISSN position stand supports 3 to 6 mg per kg taken about 60 minutes before exercise. For a 70 kg runner, 3 mg per kg is 210 mg. For a 9:45 wave that means around 8:45, while you wait in Preston Park; for a 10:37 wave, around 9:35.
• The course gel is caffeine free. If you want caffeine later in the race, carry a caffeinated gel you have tested and count it toward your total.
• Sodium: ACSM’s fluid position stand suggests drinks with about 20 to 30 mmol of sodium per litre (about 460 to 690 mg) during long exercise. At 0.4 to 0.8 litres an hour, that works out to roughly 200 to 550 mg of sodium per hour.
• HIGH5 Zero contains sodium, but the strength served in course cups is not published. In cool April weather most runners will not need extra salt; heavy or salty sweaters can carry a tested electrolyte product in the range above.
• The organiser’s medical page suggests eating some salty food in the 24 to 48 hours after the race while you rehydrate.
• Tear the top of your gel before the station, so you can take the cup with the same hand.

Hydration for April on the Brighton sea front: wind and weather

The Met Office’s 1991 to 2026 averages for Shoreham Airport, the nearest long-term station, give an April daily high of about 13 °C (56 °F), a low of about 5 °C (41 °F), 45 mm of rain over about nine wet days, and a mean wind speed of 8.6 knots, about 16 km/h or 10 mph. With waves starting between 9:45 and 10:37 last year, most runners race through late morning and early afternoon, near the warmest part of the day. The bigger factor is exposure. Marine Drive above the cliffs, Madeira Drive, Kings Road and the Kingsway and Hove Promenade finish are all open seafront, and each is run out and back, so whatever the wind is doing you will meet it head-on for part of the race.

ACSM’s fluid guidance says to drink enough to avoid losing more than 2 percent of body weight, and suggests 0.4 to 0.8 litres an hour as a starting point for most runners. The organiser’s medical advice says to drink what you need to quench your thirst, warns that too much fluid during or after the race can cause hyponatraemia, notes that slower runners need less fluid than faster ones, and asks runners not to attempt a personal best if race day is hot. If it is hot, the organiser says extra water and showers are set up on the course.

• Test your sweat rate in one cool and one mild long run. Weigh yourself before and after, without clothes, and account for what you drank.
• If you carry a bottle, plan your refills at miles 4, 7.5, 12, 16.5 and 20. After mile 20 you are back to cups only.
• On a cold, wet day, walking late in the race can leave you chilled. The organiser suggests a hat and gloves, which are easy to carry.
• Into a headwind, tuck in behind a group or your pacer and hold effort, not pace. Take gels and drinks on the sheltered or tailwind legs where you can.
• Seek medical help for confusion, severe headache, repeated vomiting, or collapse, whatever the clock says.

Breakfast and timing for a 9:45 to 10:37 Brighton Marathon start time

A familiar carbohydrate-rich meal one to four hours before racing is the standard framework, and ACSM gives 1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kg in that window. Brighton’s later start gives you more room than an early-morning marathon. Last edition, roads around Preston Park closed from 6:30, Preston Park station was closed until 11:00, and Brighton station was the closest open station to the start. Runners were given arrival times from 8:30 (waves 1 and 2) to 9:45 (wave 8). Work back from your 2027 wave time once it is confirmed.

• Option A, about 6:30 to 7:30 (2.5 to 3.5 hours before a 9:45 to 10:37 wave): a practised breakfast such as porridge with honey, white toast or a bagel with jam, a banana and juice, about 1.5 to 2.5 g of carbohydrate per kg.
• Option B, for later waves or a nervous stomach: a full breakfast around 7:00, then a smaller top-up of about 0.5 g per kg, such as a cereal bar or white roll with honey, about 90 minutes before your wave.
• In Preston Park: sip a sports drink you know while you wait, in small amounts. The organiser’s medical advice suggests only a small amount of fluid in the final half hour, and only if you are not already well hydrated.
• About 60 minutes before your wave: caffeine, at the dose and timing you have practised.
• 10 to 15 minutes before your wave: an optional gel, only if used in training.
• Food traders were in Preston Park last year, but do not plan on trying something new there. Bring what you have tested.

Brighton Marathon course map: hills, the seafront, and the old Shoreham power station stretch

If you have read older race reports, you will know about the long out-and-back through Shoreham Harbour to the power station, which was part of the route in the early editions. The current course does not go there. The organiser’s course page does not mention Shoreham, and the westernmost roads on the 2026 road closure list are Kingsway and Wharf Road at mile 24 and Western Esplanade at mile 25. The miles below come from the official course page and the 2026 road closure list; recheck the 2027 course map when it is published.

• Miles 1 to 6: from Preston Park up Preston Park Avenue, a 20 m climb over 700 m, then down Preston Drove and north along a broadly flat London Road before turning back into the city past the Theatre Royal and Royal Pavilion and round The Level. Hold back here; the official page says the course rewards control early. Take your first gel around the mile 4 water.
• Miles 6 to 13: a 12 m climb up St James’s Street, Lower Rock Gardens onto Marine Parade, then a gentle rise onto Marine Drive along the clifftops. A steady 14 m climb leads to the Ovingdean U-turn, and you pass halfway above Brighton Marina on the way back. This is the most exposed stretch if the wind is up, and the four main climbs are done by mile 11.
• Miles 14 to 19: Aquarium Junction and Madeira Drive at mile 15, with the Charity Cheer Avenue and the first course gel and Zero. A flat out-and-back along Volk’s Electric Railway brings you back past Brighton Pier, the i360 and the Peace Statue onto Kings Road. The crowds are loud here; keep to your schedule.
• Miles 19 to 23: the course turns inland up Grand Avenue and through Hove on Church Road, New Church Road, Boundary Road and Wish Road. The official page says this is where it might get tough. The second course gel and Zero are at mile 21. This is the stretch where runners who stopped eating start to slow.
• Miles 23 to 26.2: back to the seafront on Kingsway, west towards Wharf Road, then along Western Esplanade and Hove Promenade past the beach huts at mile 25 to the finish on Hove Lawns. Your last carried gel should be in by about mile 23; the last water is at mile 24.

The long-run rehearsal that makes the plan real

Brighton asks you to eat breakfast around 7:00, wait in a park for an hour or more, and run from about 10:00 into the afternoon, while carrying most of your fuel. Rehearse that. In February and March, schedule two or three long runs that start at about 10:00. Eat the same breakfast at the same time, carry the full number of gels in the belt or pockets you will race in, and take them at the same points. If you can, put the hills in the first third of the run, and run part of it on an exposed road or seafront so you learn how to take a gel into a headwind.

Buy a box of HIGH5 Energy Gel Aqua and use it in at least two long runs if you plan to take the course gels at miles 15 and 21. The organiser’s medical advice also suggests practising your race-day breakfast at the same time before long runs. In the later rehearsals, simplify. If carrying eight gels is awkward, try a soft flask or chews you have tested. If a gel every 20 minutes feels stressful, link your gels to the water stations, which come every 2 miles. The best plan is the one you can still follow on Church Road at mile 21.

Race-week Brighton checklist

• Recheck the official course page and your 2027 participant guide for station positions, products and your wave start time. The organiser says start times are confirmed about five weeks before race day.
• In the 36 to 48 hours before the race, eat a high-carbohydrate diet. ACSM’s joint position statement sets carbohydrate loading at 10 to 12 g per kg per day for events longer than 90 minutes. The organiser’s own advice is more carbohydrate and less protein in the last three days, and no drastic changes to your diet.
• Lay out every carried item, add one backup, and write grams and timing on one card. Count only the two course gels toward your carbohydrate, not the Zero cups.
• Plan your morning backward from your wave time: breakfast, train or drop-off (last year roads around Preston Park closed from 6:30), arrival at your allocated time, kitbag drop.
• UK runners received event packs by post last year; international runners collected theirs in Brighton on the Friday or Saturday. There was no race-day collection.
• Check the forecast 48 hours out, especially wind speed and direction for the seafront, and adjust fluid, layers and pacing, not the whole fuel plan.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and update notes

1. 1Brighton MarathonBrighton Marathon Weekend, London Marathon Events (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; Sunday 4 April 2027, Preston Park start, 477 ft elevation gain, pacers 3:00 to 7:00, HIGH5 on course
2. 2FAQsBrighton Marathon Weekend, London Marathon Events (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; 2027 start time confirmed about five weeks before, seven-hour cut-off, later waves allowed, pacer times, bag drop
3. 3Brighton Marathon CourseBrighton Marathon Weekend, London Marathon Events (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; water at miles 2 to 24, HIGH5 Zero at 7, 15, 21 and 23, Energy Gel Aqua at 15 and 21, refill points, climbs and course rundown; no year shown, matches the 2026 guide
4. 42026 Brighton Marathon Participant Event GuideBrighton Marathon Weekend, London Marathon Events (official PDF)Last edition; wave start and arrival times, fluids and fuel table, HIGH5 Zero description, cut-off and sweep vehicle, Hove Lawns finish, finish items, travel and road closures around Preston Park
5. 5Brighton Marathon Weekend 2026 Road Closure InformationBrighton Marathon Weekend, London Marathon Events (official PDF)Last edition; roads by mile, including Grand Avenue, Church Road, Boundary Road, Kingsway, Wharf Road and Western Esplanade
6. 6Medical AdviceBrighton Marathon Weekend, London Marathon Events (official site)Accessed November 2, 2026; drink to thirst, hyponatraemia warning, heat and cold advice, carbohydrate in the last three days, salty food after the race
7. 7Energy Gel AquaHIGH5 (manufacturer)23 g carbohydrate per 66 g sachet, caffeine free, glucose syrup and maltodextrin
8. 8ZERO Electrolyte TabletsHIGH5 (manufacturer)Sugar-free electrolyte drink with zero calories; sodium, magnesium, potassium, calcium and chloride; one tablet per 750 ml recommended
9. 9Shoreham Airport Location-Specific Long-Term AveragesMet Office1991 to 2020 April averages: maximum 13.1 °C, minimum 5.2 °C, 45 mm rain, 9.1 rain days, mean wind 8.64 knots
10. 10Thousands Run in Brighton Marathon, Pictures (15 April 2012)Brighton and Hove NewsDescribes the earlier route heading west along the seafront and through Shoreham Harbour to the power station
11. 11International Association of Athletics Federations Consensus Statement 2019: Nutrition for AthleticsInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30952204Carbohydrate ranges, pre-race meal, and hydration guidance
12. 12Contemporary Nutrition Strategies to Optimize Performance in Distance Runners and Race WalkersInternational Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Burke et al., 2019), PMID 30747558Marathon carbohydrate intake, including up to 90 g per hour for trained runners in longer events
13. 13Nutrition and Athletic Performance: Joint Position StatementAmerican College of Sports Medicine (Thomas et al., 2016), PMID 268911661 to 4 g per kg carbohydrate 1 to 4 hours before exercise; carbohydrate loading at 10 to 12 g per kg for 36 to 48 hours
14. 14Exercise and Fluid Replacement: Position StandAmerican College of Sports Medicine (Sawka et al., 2007), PMID 17277604Avoid more than 2 percent body weight loss; 0.4 to 0.8 litres per hour starting point; 20 to 30 mmol sodium per litre
15. 15A Step Towards Personalized Sports Nutrition: Carbohydrate Intake During ExerciseSports Medicine (Jeukendrup, 2014), PMID 24791914Multiple transportable carbohydrates and intakes above 60 g per hour
16. 16International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Caffeine and Exercise PerformanceJISSN (Guest et al., 2021), PMID 333880793 to 6 mg per kg, about 60 minutes before exercise