Andy Daish and Chris Farr (pictured above), joint Race Directors of ORA Events Limited, were delighted with the turnout for the Garmin New Forest Marathon and supporting events on Sunday, 14 September 2025. The New Forest Marathon had 726 finishers, and a total of 3,167 ran in the four main race distances: marathon, half marathon, 10K, and 5K.

The New Forest Marathon started in 1983 after the Lions Club of New Milton discussed plans for fundraising events, and the President, Mick Manley, stood up and said confidently, "I've had an idea!" The rest, as they say, is history, and 40 years later the New Forest Marathon has donated over £1.33 million to support over 125 local good causes and community groups. Since 2015, over £85,000 has been raised to fund projects that help local people to get active.

New Forest Marathon quickly became one of the most popular trail marathons in the world, selling out every year. The first race was held at New Milton, moving to its present home at New Forest Park Showground in 2015, with a vibrant race village and new events like the Junior 1K and Junior 200m, plus the popular Woodland Walk…there really is something for everyone!

This year's event supported New Forest For Ukraine with altruistic runners donating 620 cans of soup and 844 bars of soap to help make a difference to the difficult lives of those affected by the conflict in Ukraine.

The community atmosphere and beauty of the New Forest National Park can be appreciated in this event video...

This year's marathon champions were M45 Peter Rowat (Cardiff Triathletes, 2:45:06 PB) and W35 Claire Keith (Hailsham Harriers, 3:11:31 PB). Their personal bests show that the course can be fast despite the gravel surface on the trail sections.

The half-marathon winners were Alex Young (Romsey Road Runners, 1:14:11) and Hannah Froud (New Forest Runners, 1:22:45) – on their 13.1-mile race debuts. At 10K, the first home were Callum Abberley (Burton AC, 35:57) and Jenine Timms (unattached, 44:21). Jamie Grose, of Poole AC, took the 5K victory in 17:18 from W40 Erin Willmers (Winchester RC, 19:05), who was second overall.

Full results are at the runABC South race listing here.

Photos courtesy of New Forest Marathon on Facebook