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Brighton Marathon 2023

19 watchers

JJJ Mar 2023 2:06pm, 28 Mar 2023 256 posts	Quote Pin JJJ "...athletes only area.." There isn't one! The start pens are the only place that's restricted.
Surrey Phil Mar 2023 2:16pm, 28 Mar 2023 9,244 posts	Quote Pin Surrey Phil Has this changed only recently, JJJ? We had colour corral pens which were runner-only areas between 2016-2019. This changed to an athletes-only area in 2021 and 2022. As no start area of Preston Park has been produced, I was going by this year's Event Guide which says, "Once in Preston Park, participants will be called into the Athlete Only Area, according to the colour on their bib number and Start Wave. Please note supporters are welcome to join you in Preston Park but are not permitted into the Athlete Only Area."
JJJ Mar 2023 3:33pm, 28 Mar 2023 257 posts	Quote Pin JJJ I spoke to the site manager today because I wanted to be sure the message had been passed from higher up that we're parkrunning on Saturday and when I mentioned athlete only area, he said there wasn't one. Don't know when it changed, but that's what he said!
premierfella Mar 2023 4:56pm, 28 Mar 2023 57 posts	Quote Pin premierfella I suspect LME only ever planned for the corral pens being controlled - its probably just a confusion over wording as LME appear to have carried over the "Athlete Only Area" wording from the previous BM events. LME don't seem to use that language at their other events if the Big Half is anything to go by (there the only controlled area is the start pens - or what they called the "start chute" - with the wider non-controlled and controlled being called the "Start Area")
Surrey Phil Mar 2023 5:26pm, 28 Mar 2023 9,245 posts	Quote Pin Surrey Phil The other aspect which suggested a specific athlete-only area is the arrival times, which range from 0:58 to 1:15 before each corral's estimated start time. Either that or it's the organisers' way of keeping a bit of space in the park; i.e. the red corral arrive (8:30 for 9:45 start), bag drop, warm up, use the toilets and begin filling up their starting corral before the pinks and greens turn up at 9:15.
premierfella Mar 2023 11:03am, 29 Mar 2023 58 posts	Quote Pin premierfella Definitely the latter, although I totally see where you are coming from Surry Phil. I've always assumed LME give those arrival times because their events attract a lot of first-timers and its a genuine attempt to ensure runners get the best experience. We've all seen runners turning up at the crack of dawn for a race starting over 2 hours later, and similarly first time runners turning up 5 minutes before their start time and not accounting for toilet queues. In my case my rail ticket was booked well before LME got round to giving us a clue as to what their start wave times were going to be, so I'll likely be lounging around Brighton station for a while staying dry on Sunday before heading to the park
Surrey Phil Mar 2023 5:31pm, 29 Mar 2023 9,246 posts	Quote Pin Surrey Phil I see that Will Tuckley is likely to be Brighton Council's new interim CEO. While he was at Tower Hamlets, he worked with LME as part of their non-executive directorate on behalf of the London boroughs involved. That could be quite an interesting appointment with regards to future races in the city.
Surrey Phil Mar 2023 6:29pm, 29 Mar 2023 9,248 posts	Quote Pin Surrey Phil Weather forecast for the weekend has improved. The Mini-Mile Races will still get the rain but Sunday seems to be overcast but a better chance of staying dry. Not sure what the beach village (if any) at Hove Lawns will entail. No chance of putting up any tents or marquees before the weekend as high winds are expected all day on Friday.
JJJ Mar 2023 8:24am, 30 Mar 2023 258 posts	Quote Pin JJJ Marquees going up it Preston Park today, Hove lawns was being marked out on Monday, don't know about marquees, will drive by this eve to be nosy as I'll be out that way.
Surrey Phil Mar 2023 2:22pm, 30 Mar 2023 9,251 posts	Quote Pin Surrey Phil Hopefully, they will all still be there by the weekend! Forecasters have changed their Sunday prediction to between 7-10 degrees and sunny/dry once the race starts. The quicker runners may get wet upon arrival in Preston Park but the shufflers like myself may miss any morning dampness altogether.