The Brighton Marathon is back – meet some of the people taking part and see the route map here

Nick Prince, Deborah Birnie, Alice Dewar-Mills and Niki Strange from the Brighter Outlook running group are taking on the 10k for Albion in the Community

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It has been a long wait but the popular Brighton Marathon and 10k is back this Sunday (September 12).

The marathon was cancelled last year due to the pandemic and this year’s event was moved from April to September, so it has been a long wait for some who signed up for the challenge.

But the time has come and we at the Brighton Indy want to wish everyone taking part in this weekend’s events lots of luck. Whether you are a serious runner hoping to run a personal best or if you will be taking it a bit more steady while raising money for an amazing cause – you can do this!

Suzanne Mallaghan, pictured with husband Haroon, twin boys Kai and Jared, and youngest is Rowan, is running the marathon for the Rockinghorse charity

American Express, one of the marathon’s main partners, also has a message for the thousands who will get their running shoes on this Sunday.

They said: “Good luck to everyone taking part in Sunday’s BM10k and Brighton Marathon. After a difficult 18 months, it’s great to see this amazing event back on our streets. A huge thank you to everyone involved in making the event happen in a safe and Covid-secure way.”

Today (Saturday) the youngsters, aged seven to 17, get a chance to complete a mini mile at the start of the marathon course in Preston Park. Then, tomorrow (Sunday) the 10k runners go first with arrivals at 8am before the 26.2 mile marathon runners get ready to go at 9am.

Organisers have asked people to avoid gathering at the start line but to offer support and cheers along the main marathon route, including at the Royal Pavilion, the i360, the Peace Statue and the power station in Portslade.

Jolyon Michael is running for Pancreatic Cancer UK in memory of his dad Brian

There will be thousands of people taking part. We spoke to just a few of them who hope to raise money for charity as well as completing the marathon or 10k.

So grateful for support

Mum-of-three Suzanne Mallaghan from Hove is running the marathon for the Rockinghorse charity which supports the Trevor Mann Baby Unit (TMBU) and The Royal Alex Children’s Hospital in Brighton.

Suzanne’s twins Kai and Jared were born two months premature after a difficult pregnancy. The boys developed a rare form of Twin to Twin Transfusion, a life threatening condition and needed an emergency delivery. They were born in April 2016 and stayed at the TMBU for the first few weeks of their lives.

Stephen Lockwood is raising money for the Imperial Health Major Trauma Unit where he was rushed to in 2017 after being run over during a terrorist attack on Westminster Bridge

Suzanne said: “We are so very grateful for the staff at TMBU who supported our boys during that time and the staff at The Alex who continued to support Jared as he faced further challenges in the months that followed.”

Kai and Jared are now happy, healthy and enthusiastic 5 year old boys and have a little brother Rowan, aged two.

It will be Suzanne’s first marathon and you can donate to her at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/suzanne-mallaghanHelping other brain injury survivors

Zara Dyer is taking part in the marathon for a brain injury charity that she set up after suffering a life-changing traumatic brain injury (TBI) when she was driving in 2016.

Zara was 29 at the time when she had a random seizure which