The 2026 race ran on 13 September. The next New Forest Marathon is Sunday 12 September 2027; last year's road closures, start times and parking are below.
Updated 29 September: the 2026 race has been run. The organiser’s website now gives the next New Forest Marathon as Sunday 12 September 2027. The 2026 details below are kept as the guide to what race day looks like; the 2027 road closure order will be added when the county council publishes it, normally about three weeks before.
The Garmin New Forest Marathon was on Sunday 13 September 2026, and Hampshire County Council’s order shut two forest roads, reversed one to a single direction and dropped the A337 at Brockenhurst to 30mph for the day. The organiser’s own website does not publish that list. This page does.
Everything below comes from the county council’s public notice and from the race organiser’s own pages, both read on 5 September 2026.
Which roads are affected, and when
Hampshire County Council made the order under section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 “to allow the New Forest Marathon to take place out on or near the road”. It runs on Sunday 13 September 2026 between 06:00 and 17:00, “for 1 day or until the event has ended, whichever is sooner”, and the council says “reasonable facilities will be provided to allow access to adjacent premises while the event is being carried out”.
| Road | Extent | Restriction | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhinefield Ornamental Drive | A35 Bournemouth Road junction to North Weirs junction | Closed | 09:00 to 13:30 |
| Sway Road | B3055 Latchmoor Road junction to Woodlands Road junction | Closed | 09:55 to 12:30 |
| Burley Road | North Weirs junction to Longslade junction | One way, northbound only | 10:30 to 14:45 |
| A337 Lyndhurst Road | A337 Clayhill junction to Balmer Lawn Road junction | Temporary 30mph limit | 06:00 to 17:00 |
Two things are worth reading twice. Burley Road is not closed, it is reversed to northbound traffic only for four and a quarter hours, so a southbound trip out of Burley towards Brockenhurst has to go round. And the 30mph limit on the A337 through Brockenhurst starts at 06:00, three hours before the closures and four hours before the first runner sets off, so early traffic will meet it with no race in sight.
The notice was published on 24 August 2026 and expires on 14 September. County council enquiries are on 0300 555 1388.
Start times
All races start and finish at New Park Showground, Brockenhurst SO42 7QH.
| Race | Start |
|---|---|
| Full marathon | 10:00 |
| Half marathon | 10:45 |
| 10K and Woodland Walk | 11:15 |
| 5K | 11:30 |
| Junior 200m and 1 mile | 15:30 |
The organiser’s FAQ says the full and half marathon courses “close 6 hours after their respective start times”, after which a sweep bus collects anyone still out and chip timing has stopped, so no result is recorded.
Parking, the shuttle and getting there
New Park has on-site parking a short walk from the race village, and the organiser puts the cost at £6 for the day. A shuttle bus runs between Brockenhurst railway station and the showground on a 20 minute loop from 7am to 5pm, at £6 one way or £8.50 return.
If you are driving through rather than to the race, the A35 is not in the order at all, so the sensible east to west route is unaffected. It is the lanes that change: Rhinefield Ornamental Drive is the direct link from the A35 down to Brockenhurst, and it is shut for four and a half hours. Our roadworks and travel page tracks the district’s other closures, and parking in the New Forest covers the Forestry England charges that now apply to the forest car parks you might otherwise use to watch from.
Entry prices
Entries were still open at these prices when we checked on 5 September. A £2.50 service fee is added to each one.
| Race | Unaffiliated | UKA affiliated | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full marathon | £49 | £47 | 18 |
| Half marathon | £39 | £37 | 17 |
| 10K | £28 | £26 | 15 |
| 5K | £20 | £18 | 11 |
| Junior 5K, 11 to 16 | £15 | £13 | 11 |
| Child 5K, 8 to 10 | £30 | £30 | 8 |
| Woodland Walk | £12 | £12 | none stated |
The £30 child 5K fee covers the accompanying adult as well, and the organiser requires 8 to 10 year olds to have “completed a 5k distance twice before the event” and to be accompanied “AT ALL TIMES”. Refunds are only available within 14 days of purchase, transfers to another person were free up to 1 August, and the event does not allow deferments.
Practical points the organiser makes
- Dogs and child buggies cannot accompany runners. Dogs are welcome in the race village on a lead.
- There is a baggage area in the race village for participants only.
- Toilets are marked on the half and full marathon route maps.
- Ponies and deer roam the course. This is a multi-terrain route on open forest, not a closed-road city race.
What is still not published
The organiser’s website does not carry the road closure list at all, and we could not find a spectator page: the address where one would sit returns a 404. So there is no official guidance on where to stand, and the county order is the only public document that says which roads change and for how long.
Sources
- Hampshire County Council public notice, “TEMPORARY TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS, VARIOUS ROADS, BROCKENHURST, NEW FOREST, NEW FOREST MARATHON”, notice id 22851, published 24 August 2026, read 5 September 2026.
- newforestmarathon.co.uk, home page, race FAQs and race entry pages, read 5 September 2026.
Have your say