Aims

The New Forest Marathon Team Aims to:
  1. Revitalise and raise the profile of the New Forest Marathon event.
  2. Inspire as many people as possible to take part in physical activity, lowering levels of inactivity and improving the health of the community.
  3. Build a sustainable platform to raise money and awareness of local good causes via the New Forest Marathon Community Fund. (Registered charity Number 1176268)
  4. Use the marathon as a platform to help as many people, organisations and businesses as possible.
  5. Operate with transparency, high moral standards and clear communication.
  6. Support the management, protection and education of the New Forest.
Background

The New Forest Marathon has been the cornerstone of Hampshire running calendar for the past 38 years, raising over £1.33 million for local good causes and attracting thousands of competitors. The nationally recognised marathon has been ranked in the top 10 marathons in the UK for 20 years.

The main routes will start and finish from New Park Showground, Brockenhurst and wind through the heart of the New Forest National Park. The multi terrain courses offer some of the most scenic running experiences in the country with mix of forest enclosures, open roads, far reaching views and of course the famous New Forest ponies.

The New Forest Marathon has always been a local event ran by local people, we are keen to ensure that the trend of giving back to the community continues.

Since 2015 the event has been hosted at New Park Showground in the heart of the New Forest. This provides the event with the fantastic stage it deserves to represent the area, with excellent access by road and rail. Additional features of the event include a welcoming family friendly atmosphere with trade stands, local entertainment, on site car parking and camping, as well as a fresh range of events that will appeal to a wider audience including:

New Forest Marathon 

New Forest Half Marathon 

New Forest 10k

New Forest 5k

Junior runs – 1k and 200m (aimed at ages 0-12yrs)

Woodland Walk

The stunning venue has direct access onto the forest allowing us to create a true New Forest experience for local and visiting families whilst catering for different ages and abilities.   Our aim ‘to inspire as many people to be physically active as possible’ is shared by local key partners, New Forest District Council/Sport Hampshire and IOW, as well as national bodies Sport England, Run Britain and NHS Choices. By expanding our race choice offer, our event provides an excellent platform to fit with national campaigns to reduce obesity and inspire activity.

Our aim to lower levels of obesity and inactivity in the local community

Inactivity and obesity are now recognised as the 4th biggest killer in the UK costing £27 billion and causing 37,000 deaths every year. It is estimated that 62% of the adult population of Hampshire is overweight and obese. The New Forest Marathon Team are committed to lowering this statistic in two ways:

  1. Produce an inspiring flagship sporting event with recognised professional support to get as many people active as possible. This is why we have introduced 5k and 10k races as well as the half and full marathon. The great thing with running events is that each athlete has a purposeful aim for their training which can start up to a year in advance. We aim to produce a pathway from couch to full marathon to engage all levels and ages on a supported progressive route to better health.
  2. The New Forest Marathon Community Fund is a registered charity and has been established to raise money for local good causes across the local area. Community groups will be able to apply to this fund to help with any project that inspires physical activity and lowers inactivity with the over-riding aim to inspire the community to engage in more than 30 minutes of activity per week. For further information please visit the fundraising section of the site.

We are passionate about keeping the event locally managed and continue to help support the local community through out the year. This is a model that is becoming increasingly rare to find and something that differentiates us from other marathons and sporting events. Using the New Forest Marathon as a platform to raise activity levels and to help as many businesses, people and organisations as possible is and honor, we would love you to be part of this journey.