England Athletics Launches Project Brisbane to Build Britain’s Next Generation of Marathon Champions

England’s next great marathon runner probably isn’t running marathons yet. That’s not a gap in the system — it’s the plan.

England Athletics launched Project Brisbane on 1 October 2026, kicking off its inaugural camp at Leeds Beckett University’s Carnegie School of Sport. The name tells you everything about the timeline. This is not a sprint to the next championship cycle. It is a deliberate, long-horizon programme designed to build the athletes who will be ready for Brisbane 2032 and the major championships beyond it.

The first camp brought together athletes, coaches and specialist practitioners for a mix of physiology-supported training sessions, discussions around durability and long-term athlete development, and direct access to some of the leading applied scientists in British endurance sport. Science in Sport came on board as the programme’s nutrition and fuelling partner from day one.

What Is Project Brisbane and Why Does It Exist?

Project Brisbane is England Athletics’ new dedicated programme for identifying and supporting athletes with the potential to succeed at the marathon at major championships. The list of target events reads like a roadmap through the rest of the decade: Commonwealth Games, European Championships, World Championships and the Olympic Games.

The programme’s stated goal is to complement existing coaching environments, not replace them. Athletes come in from a range of endurance backgrounds and many are expected to stay focused on track, road and cross-country racing for years before they make any move toward the marathon. That is deliberate. Successful marathon development takes years, not training cycles, and Project Brisbane is built around that reality.

Andrew Heyes, England Athletics’ National Off-Track Endurance Manager, framed it clearly at the launch: “We know that successful marathon development takes place over many years, and this programme is about supporting athletes throughout that journey, helping maximise their potential, and creating a squad-based environment.”

The support athletes can access through the programme covers physiology, psychology, strength and conditioning and long-term performance planning. It is a structured environment, not just a camp series, and that distinction matters.

Why Leeds Beckett University Is the Right Home for This Programme

The choice of venue is not incidental. Leeds Beckett’s Carnegie School of Sport has been at the centre of British marathon development for years, and the infrastructure there is genuinely world-class by any measure.

The campus has purpose-built environmental heat chambers that have been used to prepare elite marathon runners for racing in extreme conditions. It houses state-of-the-art physiology labs, a 60-metre athletics track, strength and conditioning facilities and a nutrition teaching kitchen. More importantly, it has the applied science expertise to match.

Dr Daniel Snape, one of the practitioners at the first Project Brisbane camp, has a research background in endurance and environmental physiology. Dr Barney Wainwright brings over 25 years of applied work with athletes from recreational level to the Olympics. These are not consultants parachuted in for a day. They are the people who have been quietly building this infrastructure for a long time.

What Is the Leeds Talent Hub and How Does It Connect to Project Brisbane?

The Leeds Talent Hub is the wider performance environment that Project Brisbane sits inside. It is a collaboration built on partnerships between Leeds Beckett University, England Athletics, London Marathon Events and the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), with British Athletics also involved at key stages.

London Marathon Events’ involvement is significant. Their funding enables the Hub to access additional endurance coaching capacity and specialist sports science support that would otherwise be difficult to sustain. The relationship has given the Hub a particular depth of expertise across distance running that sets it apart from most talent development environments in British athletics.

The Hub’s head coach is Andrew Henderson, who has coached athletes from junior level to senior international competition. His track record includes working with Phil Sesemann from early development all the way to a Paris Olympic selection and a personal best of 2:07:11 at the 2025 Valencia Marathon, which placed Sesemann fifth on the UK all-time rankings.

Project Brisbane draws on this existing infrastructure and expertise while giving England Athletics a more structured, nationally organised lens on long-term marathon development specifically.

Who Is Andrew Heyes, and Why Does His Background Matter?

Andrew Heyes is an interesting figure to be running this programme, and not just because of his title. He is a postdoctoral research fellow at Leeds Beckett University as well as England Athletics’ National Off-Track Endurance Manager. He has also competed at international level himself, most recently receiving heat acclimation support from Dr Daniel Snape ahead of the 50km World Championships.

The man building this programme has been on both sides of the lab door. He knows what a preparation block feels like from the inside and what the physiology data looks like from the outside. That dual perspective is rare, and it shapes the way Project Brisbane has been designed with athletes and coaches at the centre rather than around them.

Brisbane 2032: Why the Marathon Timeline Makes This Programme Urgent Now

The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games are scheduled for 23 July to 8 August 2032 in Brisbane, Australia. The marathon and road events are planned for Alexandra Headland on the Sunshine Coast, a road-based course that will present very different physical demands from a track environment.

Six years sounds like a long runway. In marathon development terms, it barely is. The sport consistently shows that the athletes who peak in the marathon in their late twenties and early thirties are the ones who spent their mid-twenties building an aerobic base across shorter distances. England’s best chance of a medal in Brisbane is being run right now, in track races and cross-country fields, by athletes who may not have attempted a marathon yet.

Project Brisbane is designed to find those athletes, support the coaches working with them, and create an environment where the transition to marathon racing is informed, gradual and evidence-led when the time comes.

What Project Brisbane Means for the Future of British Marathon Running

British marathon running has had genuine moments in the past few years. Emile Cairess is one of the most complete marathon runners Britain has ever produced. Phil Sesemann’s development arc from part-time competitor and NHS doctor to Olympian and sub-2:08 performer is one of the more remarkable recent stories in the sport. But both of those careers were built largely by accident of circumstance, through the right coach in the right city with the right university infrastructure nearby.

Project Brisbane is an attempt to make that less accidental. A structured, long-term, science-backed programme that creates the conditions for marathon talent to emerge and then gives it the support to develop properly is exactly what the event has needed. Whether it produces podium athletes in Brisbane remains to be seen. But the foundations being laid in Leeds right now are more serious than anything England Athletics has put behind the marathon event before.