Bournemouth Marathon Festival

Shame not even a coffee stand at the start. Poor spectators waiting around for upto 2 hours with nothing there.

Only downside was they delayed the start 15 minutes but with no explanation. Otherwise a great event

Great flat 10k course😊
Perfect for beginners and more serious runners alike
Lots of encouragement along the way

Great race. lovely views of the sea.
Well organised and great support along the route. Difficultt in strong winds unfortunately due to exposed nature of route

Greta atmosphere and wonderful volunteers.
Course is very tough and hilly! But I love a challenge, Shame it’s not gonna be on next year.

The event was good fun. The route was flat ish.. although you do double back on yourself a couple of time. Lots of sand on the route. Medal was a bit disappointing but lots of supporters on the route

My first marathon! Certainly challenging, with hills and running along the promenade on sand and avoiding sun seekers!
Great support though and lovely to run along 2 piers.
It’s a shame it’s been cancelled next year

Outstanding organisation and atmosphere with the perfect number of runners to have company but not get held up by crowds. Loved the first few miles but found running along the promenade tough; strong winds and sand on the course made it hard going and it ended up pretty boring after the first couple of miles. The sections on the piers were however great, and I enjoyed heading back into town at mile 18 for a change of scenery - just wish there was a little less of the course on the sea front. Finish was good with great massages for dead legs but the long walk between the finish, baggage pick up and the shuttle bus stop pretty much killed me.

Very well organised race - race number posted the week before so no need to queue to register. Free bus from town centre to start line took 10 minutes. The course is very pleasant - along the beach with views on Studland and the cliffs of Isle of Wight. However, much of the course involved running up a road to then turn around and run back the other way which was a bit boring vs. other city marathons where you are always seeing something new. Also the course along the beach was not closed to the public so there were problems with the people walking in the middle of the course with their dogs, kids on bikes etc which was rather annoying during the final 6 miles! Also, the beach is completely unsheltered meaning much of race involved running straight into 25mph winds...
A brutally steep hill at mile 18 hit me for six and I could not recover my pace, which when combined with the wind factor unfortunately meant finish time was 10mins slower than hoped.
Not a course to set your PB but very easy access from London, well organised and a fun atmosphere.