A grandson running in memory of his nan, a woman completing 40 marathons for her 40th and a record breaker dressed as a dalmatian are some of the thousands set to take part in this year’s Brighton Half Marathon.
Runners will line up at Madeira Drive on Sunday, February 25, to take part in the annual event.
They will include James Sicilia, from Burgess Hill, who is running to raise money for Brain Tumour Research in memory of his grandmother Brenda Thorne who died of a brain tumour in 2015.
It will be the 28-year-old’s first half marathon.
“She was one of the most incredible women in my life, always there for anyone in the family and we all miss her greatly,” he said.
People can donate to James’s fundraiser at www.justgiving.com/page/james-sicilia-1698775009166.
Will Shand, 59 and Darren Winter, 53, from Worthing, will run from Worthing to the Brighton Half start line, run the Brighton Half and then run home again, a total of 43.1 miles, in aid of Sussex MS Centre.
Will’s wife Annette has had MS for 30 years and the centre has provided the couple with support.
“The Sussex MS Centre is such a good charity that I wanted to find a way to do them justice,” he said.
“They provide a space, a community and services for people with MS that they can't get anywhere else.”
He said the running challenge will be hard but “nowhere near as hard as having MS”.
“We hope to raise £1,000 for the centre, to keep it working and helping people,” he said.
Will and Darren’s fundraiser can be found at mssussex.enthuse.com/pf/will-shand.
Read more: Woody Cook to start Brighton Half Marathon youth race
Chloe Neilson-Hopkins, from Bognor, is running 40 races in her 40th year in aid of the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust.
“Some of the young people the trust supports have faced so many challenges in their lives, their bravery has inspired and motivated me to share my journey back to running, which has been challenging having had severe incontinence after my second child,” she said.
“Over the past two years, through exercise, physio and diet I've made huge progress, but it's something that can affect me daily and almost always when I run.
“I know this isn't a sexy topic, but it would be great to raise awareness of this important issue affecting so many women's health.”
People can find Chloe’s fundraiser at www.givengain.com/champion/chloe-neilson-hopkins-890152
Luke Rickett, 19, and Anwar Karimi, 46, are running for the Brighton Table Tennis Club.
The charity runs more than 200 tables across the city and has a full-time centre in Kemp Town. The club includes people with learning disabilities, people from traveller sites, children in care, people with physical disabilities, the LGBT community and young asylum seekers. The youngest player is two and the oldest is 100.
Luke has been involved with the club for over ten years and recently won the care leaver of the year award for Brighton and Hove.
Anwar is a Kurdish asylum seeker who has been in the UK for 15 months.
The Brighton Half Marathon will be their first half marathon.
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brighton-half-marathon-3
Anthony and Anna Seddon, from Portslade, are raising money for Run2Ukraine by running 1,569 miles.
The Brighton Half Marathon will be the final event of the challenge Anthony has set himself to run the distance of England to Ukraine to raise money to send medical aid to Ukraine.
“I met my wife in Ukraine when I was watching England play football there in the European Championships in 2012, so I’ve said I’ll run the equivalent distance from the Amex Stadium, Brighton (where I’m a season ticket holder) to the Dnipro Arena (Anna’s local football stadium),” he said.
Anthony's fundraiser can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/run2ukraine
Guinness World Record holder Naomi Garrick is running dressed as a dalmatian in aid of International Animal Rescue.
Her fundraiser can be found at www.justgiving.com/page/naomi-garrick-1705078230435
The 55-year-old’s mother dedicated her life to supporting animals and in her memory, Naomi has pledged to continue the fight against animal suffering.
This is not Naomi's first run. She secured two Guinness World Records, including a marathon time of three hours 41 minutes while wearing a wedding dress.
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