he Isle of Wight Marathon celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2026, so 2027 will be the 71st 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.