A huge well done to Bex, who completed the Eden Project Marathon on Sunday 18 October 2026 despite taking a fall just four miles into the race. She kept going across the hilly course and finished with a faster trail-marathon time than she had run before.
It was a day with plenty to take in as well as plenty to overcome. Bex described running around Eden and through the surrounding villages, woods and tors on what she called a beautiful day. But after her fall, the scenery was only part of the story: the marathon’s strict cut-offs gave her a clock to chase for the remaining miles.
A fall at mile four
Four miles is early in a marathon. Bex still had most of the distance ahead when she fell, and she later reported that her leg, knees and hands were feeling sore. She summed it up in her own words: “Had a little fall at mile 4 and now my leg, knees and hands are a bit sore but still managed to run it off.”
That is Bex’s account of how her race unfolded, rather than a rule for anyone else to follow after a fall. For this run, she was able to carry on and complete the full marathon. Reaching the finish after that interruption is an achievement in itself; doing so on a course with timed checkpoints adds another dimension to it.
Chasing the Eden cut-offs
The Eden Project’s race information describes a hilly, multi-terrain marathon, with roughly 70% of the route on trails, paths and private roads and the remainder on public roads. Its overall cut-off is five and a half hours, with interim limits at miles seven, 13 and 17. Those checkpoints explain why keeping up the pace mattered so much to Bex.
“Managed to smash my trail marathon time but only because I was constantly chasing the strict cutoffs,” she said. There is a lovely bit of understatement in that: Bex credits the pressure of the clock, but she still had to cover the ground. Her account tells us she improved on her previous trail-marathon time, without needing an exact finish time to make the result worth celebrating.
Eden is not a road marathon that happens to pass a famous landmark. The changing surfaces and hills are central to the course, and Bex’s description brings its countryside setting to life. Anyone curious about the event can explore the organiser’s 2026 race results.
Another trail-marathon finish for Bex
Carn readers may remember Bex taking on the Beacon Beast Marathon earlier in the year. Eden gave her another Cornish trail-marathon challenge, this time with an early tumble and a succession of cut-offs shaping the day. She met the challenge and came away with a quicker time over this kind of distance.
It was a busy day at Eden for Carn Runners: Elena also ran a personal best in the half-marathon. Bex’s full-marathon story deserves its own cheer. Congratulations, Bex — a hard-earned finish after a difficult start, and a trail-marathon time to celebrate.
