THE Grand Brighton Half Marathon takes place a week tomorrow.

The event, organised by The Sussex Beacon, is in its 29th year and has become increasingly popular over the last few years with public places for the 2019 race selling out last autumn.

The Grand Brighton Half Marathon will see thousands of runners – both beginners to the distance and seasoned half marathoners – taking to the streets of Brighton and Hove.

The first major half marathon in the new year, it is the perfect training ground for all spring marathons and attracts a mix of first-time half marathon runners, club runners, personal-best chasers and charity runners.

The main race also features the wheelchair race,with a line-up of racers from around the country.

The wheelchair race is now in its third year after a popular inaugural event in 2017. The race has a dedicated start time at 9.27am, just before the main race.

The Sussex Beacon Corporate Relay is also part of the event, returning for the fourth year in 2019 after originally being introduced as a team event to assist businesses and organisations to not only build teamwork in the workplace but to also promote health and fitness.

A Sussex Beacon Corporate Relay trophy will be presented to the organisations which complete the half marathon course in the fastest time, and the team which raises the most for The Sussex Beacon.

The Brighton Half Youth Races promise to be bigger and better than ever before with a new course and dedicated pre and post-race meeting point at Hove Lawns (opposite Palmeira Square).

The schedule is

- 9.30am: The Grand Brighton Half Marathon race starts

- 9.30am: The Sussex Beacon Corporate Relay starts

- 10am: Youth Race winner presentations in Youth Race marquee

- 11.30am: Elite winner presentations

- 11.15am: Wheelchair race presentations

- 11.30am: Corporate relay presentations

- 2.30pm: Race village closes.

Cheering points for spectators will be:

- By The Grand hotel, which is hosting this year’s community stage featuring The Sundaes (sets at 10.45am and noon).

- East at Marine Parade: Crowds are busiest around race village and Aquarium roundabout, so head east along Marine Parade for a guaranteed chance to spot runners in the early miles of the race and on their way back towards the Pier.

- Hove seafront: Cheer on runners on King’s Road in miles seven to eight then nip across Hove Lawns to see runners on the Promenade for the final stretch in miles 11 to 12.

- West at Hove Lagoon: See runners as they make the turn back into the city for the final leg of the race.

The Grand’s community stage is outside, on the second floor balcony of the hotel, so you can watch the band perform from the seafront.

The headline act is Brighton-based pop trio, The Sundaes, as seen on BBC1 Saturday night entertainment show All Together Now.

This will be the 29th year of The Grand Brighton Half Marathon.

A small group of individuals started the race back in the early 1990s and the money raised from that first race was used to help fund the building of The Sussex Beacon, the charity which organises the race. Times have changed since the beginning when the race used to start at Brighton Marina car park with 200 runners.

Over the years the race has grown to some 12,500 entrants and it is now one of the largest running events in the South East and a significant fundraising event for many worthy charities and causes.

The following roads will be closed (timings are approximations only):

2am to 7pm – Madeira Drive

8.15am to 11.40am – Old Steine, Marlborough Place, Gloucester Place, Grand Parade, Pavilion Parade

8.15am to 11.15am – Marine Parade, Marine Drive

8.15am to 1.30pm – Kings Road to West Street (westbound and eastbound lanes)

8.15am to 1.30pm – King’s Road, Kingsway (westbound lane only).