The Southend Pier Marathon Review

Lee-Stuart Evans and Lee Fuller at the start of the Southend Pier Marathon by Sussex Trail Events

At the weekend I got the chance to join 100 people to run the first ever marathon run entirely on the longest pleasure pier in the world. Despite being quirky could this be the perfect first marathon for a new runner?

Southend Pier

Southend Pier is a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea and extends an epic 1.34 miles out to sea towards the Kent Coastline and is the longest pleasure pier in the world. Last year I regretted missing out on the Multi Storey Car Park Marathon put on by Sussex Trail Events, It looked miserable, quirky and glorious in equal measure so I was keen to not miss out on their latest and newest offering in Essex…The Southend Pier Marathon.

The Southend Pier Marathon 2017

The marathon consists of 11 out and backs on the pier. Despite the pier only opening at 9.15am each day the organisers managed to get 100 runners lined up on the start line by around 9.30am with a brief pre race briefing of

‘ keep the sea on both sides and you are on trail’

‘If you are in the sea turn round’

Lee-Stuart Evans and Lee Fuller running the Southend Pier Marathon

And off we went. The start of the day was bad for weather. We had 15mph crosswinds across the pier and rain with it. Despite that the wooden boards weren’t too slippy and we soon got into the rhythm of the out and backs.

Lee-Stuart Evans running the Southend Pier Marathon

With no race chip timers we logged our progress with a new hairband being added to our wrist after every lap. Running a marathon can feel daunting, but the pier and the out and backs breaks this race up into 11 segments. Psychologically this is a huge bonus and you get a decent well stocked aid station with drinks and food after each ‘lap’.

The rather unique lap counter system on the Southend Pier Marathon

I ran with marathon newbie and friend Lee Fuller, with a rough aim for a sub 4 hour marathon if we did ok in the first half.

The first 13 miles (or 6 outs and 5 backs) went well and we passed the half way mark around 2 hours, but about an hour later disaster struck and a minor injury in my achilles tendon that I haven’t rested properly flared up and I was forced to walk because of the pain. With 7 miles left to go (and 3 laps) I refused to drop out, put on a warmer jacket and marched the last 3 laps at a brisk walk while Lee smashed on to finish in under 4hrs 20 mins.

Lee-Stuart Evans and Lee Fuller celebrating the Southend Pier Marathon

The walk was great. Really great. I got to take in all that was going on and as the sky cleared and the sun shone I realised just how much fun I’d had. There was no ‘death march’ no awful ‘slog’. Lee brought me a beer to enjoy on my last lap.

The last sunny lap of the Southend Pier Marathon 2017

The pier had given us four seasons of weather in one day. We had run a race with the tide going out AND back during the event. Despite being in the same place all day the scenery changed a lot, at some points you could see the Kent coastline in the distance, watch rain clouds and sunshine blowing in across the bay and the colours change from the browns and grey of an overcast tide out mudflat to the bright blues of a high tide sunshine shoreline.

Sussex Trail Events organiser Jason greeting all the finishers of the Southend Pier Marathon

So why was I smiling so much on the last lap ? The next day I realised just why I loved this race so much, and its the same reason I love the Autumn 100 by Centurion Races. All ability of runner were ‘in the action’ yesterday. The out and backs meant we all got to see the winner being chased down by other contenders throughout the race. Instead of being a back of pack plodder on my own in a race we were all supporters AND runners. Its the reason why I love the Autumn 100 because its also comprised of out and backs so I feel more ‘in the action’ and less alone.

With a drop bag station next to the out and back point and the aid station you can easily change clothes, add gloves etc after each lap if you want to. Add the fact that its flat and I think you might just have the perfect conditions for a first marathon. My good friend Lee Fuller did his first marathon that day and said it was ‘easy’. I’m fairly sure all runners finished and well within the cut off time.

I should have brought gloves as my hands got very cold in the wind, and although the practicalities are tough it would have been nice to have a hot drink form the aid station during the second half of the marathon.

A race with a decent race organiser and quirky venue that caters for all running abilities is always going to rank highly on my list. In the bad weather this could have been awful, but despite the weather and my injury it was a cracking day and gains me the bragging rights of a world marathon first. Given the scale of the race I expect next year will sell out very fast.