IOW Marathon

04 Oct 2026 · 11:00

Isle of Wight Community Club, Park Road, Cowes, South East

The Isle of Wight Marathon celebrated it’s 60th Anniversary in 2016, so 2025 will be the 69th running of this historic race. It has been run continuously since 1957, making it the longest running (and one of the first to be held) in the U.K. The Isle of Wight Marathon is included in the Association of Road Racing Statisticians (ARRS) list of longest running marathons in the world. When the ARRS list was last updated in 2017, it was 25th in the world. Since the cancelation of lots of other marathons in 2020 & 2021, the Isle of Wight Marathon is probably now one of, or the longest running marathon in the UK, possibly the world. For details see ARRS and click on ‘Isle of Wight’ for the list of winners and times. The inaugural event in 1957 was won by Ken Honney (Walton A.C.) in 2:35:51. In 1964 Dale Greig (Paisley A.C.) set a women’s world record (recognised by ARRS) of 3:27:25, and was the first woman in the world to run under 3:30:00. This race in 1964 was the first EVER Marathon by a woman on a properly measured (and certified) course under racing conditions – which means that it was officially timed, marshalled, and recorded, with checks every 5 miles to ensure the course was run. Previous very worthy runs satisfied none of these conditions. In 1976 the race was the first in the UK to officially be open to women, conjunction with the Men’s race, with the inaugural event won by A Lewis (Bromsgrove & Redditch A.C.) in 3:21:06. In 1978 the race hosted the inaugural UK national Women’s Marathon Championship.