In Pictures: The 2024 Beachy Head Marathon weekend

The Beachy Head Marathon, Ultramarathon and 10K took place on Saturday, October 26 with the Beachy Head Half Marathon on Sunday, October 27.

Saturday’s Beachy Head Marathon, now in its 44th year, is one the biggest off-road marathons in the UK and is popular for its scenic and challenging route through the South Downs National Park countryside.

The marathon course includes an eye-watering 300 steps, 14 gates and the equivalent elevation of 1,318m along the epic South Downs National Park route.

Oliver Varney had the fastest marathon time at two hours, 57 minutes and 15 seconds. Amelie Karlsson had the fastest time for a female runner at three hours and 42 minutes.

The Ultramarathon – also on Saturday - is an exciting recent addition to the annual event, with runners invited to take on both the traditional Marathon route followed by the 10K route, to create an endurance race of approximately 52.6 kilometres.

Alex Will had the fastest time in the Ultramarathon at 4 hours, 19 minutes and six seconds. Sophie Biggs was the fastest female runner with a time of four hours, 47 minutes and 50 seconds.

Entries for the Ultramarathon were limited to just 200 spaces and, due to the challenging nature of this race, and only accepted from runners that have previously completed a marathon within five hours.

The 10k run – also on Saturday - set off with a route comprising of breathtaking views and challenges, taking a shorter looping route across the Downs to Belle Tout Lighthouse and back.

Rob Sherwood had the fastest 10k time at 38 minutes and 10 seconds with Lianne Leakey having the fastest female 10k run time at 46 minutes and eight seconds.

The Beachy Head Half – now in its fifth year - was on Sunday and the route will encompass much of the marathon route, but detour into new surroundings which still have that amazing, picturesque scenery.

Ethan Strevett lead the way with the fastest time in the half marathon at one hour, 32 minutes and 42 seconds with Madeleine Baptista finishing with the fastest time for a female runner at one hour, 37 minutes and 24 seconds.