By Paul Dantanus
MARTIN Johnson will be hoping to lead England to its third consecutive World Cup final in a country separated by over 10,000 miles and 12 time zones. But for a local rugby club such as Hove RFC, even international events such as this have a way of capturing the imagination of the sporting community regardless of when and where they take place.
By Rich Hook
Around 8,000 runners took to the start-line for the Brighton Marathon this Sunday (April 10), and were roared on by crowds of over 100,000.
The elite athletes didn’t let the crowd down as Philemon Kiprop Boit and Alyson Dixon smashed the men’s and women’s course records.
Kenyan Kiprop Boit led home compatriot Richard Bett Rotich in a time of 2hrs 16min 07sec in a highly competitive men’s race, which saw British Olympian Dan Robinson finish fourth.
In the women’s event, Dixon ran a smart race to win in 2hrs 34min 51sec but found her World Championship qualifying time would not count because the International Association of Athletics Federations hadn’t ratified the course.
That controversy failed to detract from a hugely successful second running of the event now considered the second-best marathon in Britain.
By Claire Smyth
A marathon runner usually hits an invisible wall which can stop him dead in his tracks after running for more than 20 miles.
So a group of City College Brighton and Hove construction students built a real wall at the 22 mile point of the Brighton Marathon to encourage participants and raise money for charity.
Tom Dowds (right) in front of The Wall which was first featured in the Brighton Marathon last year but featured a fundraising buzzer this year
Husband and wife Tom and Sharon Dowds, who both work at City College, are fundraising for a return trip to Kenya where they hope to build a proper kitchen at a school of around 800 children.
Sharon Dowds, City College’s learning support assistant, said: “Last year we had an organisation, that came up to Freshers’ week, who were talking about doing some volunteering in various parts of the world.
“And I thought: ‘We’ve got all these departments – plumbers, electricians, carpenters, builders – in this college, why aren’t we doing something?’ ”
Tom spoke to local companies, such as Ocean Sport, Portslade MOT Services and Beechwood Timber, who agreed to pledge a donation for each runner who pushes the buzzer fixed to the wall on Basin Road.
The money raised will go towards a new kitchen at a primary school – currently a tin hut – which will be built by the 18 students and three staff preparing to travel to Kenya in July.
Sharon added: “The cook cooks for 400 children at the moment. Two hundred go to a school up the road and 200 go home to the dump site to try and get something to eat.
“If they haven’t got 17p for their meal then they don’t eat.”
Last summer, a group of 12 students and three staff went to Nakuru, in Kenya, to build two timber-framed houses on a dump site, and Tom and Sharon realised they had to return.
Sharon said: “We need to go back. We promised them we would change this. When we were in the school, we were looking round – we did a little bit of gardening, we replaced the desks – everything was falling apart.”
Each student is responsible for paying for their own trip along with fundraising for the project, through an African evening in the Gallery restaurant and a ‘Knickers for Africa’ event.
Carpentry team leader Tom was sponsored to run the Brighton Marathon which is where the idea came from to construct the wall.
Tom said: “If there’s money left over, we could maybe set up a drip feed to the school to provide food for all those children.
“If there’s enough, we could actually then sponsor some children on to further education. If we raise an extra £1,000, that’s four children another year in the next step of their education.”
There will be a mix of skills in the group with construction, catering and travel and tourism students going on the trip, and the plan is for the catering people to cook a meal for all the children at the school.
Sharon added: “They treat us with absolute joy. They can’t believe that we would do what we’ve done. They just can’t believe it.
“They can’t believe why we would go there. It’s a small drop in the ocean – the poverty is so extreme – but we really do feel we’re doing something.
If anyone would like to support the Kenya project with ideas or donations please contact Tom Dowds at tjd@ccb.ac.uk.
By Rich Hook
Steve Cram, Dan Robinson, Mayor Geoff Wells, race director Tim Hutchings and Councillor Mary Mears at Friday's Marathon press conference
This year’s marathon will be bigger and better than ever before, according to Brighton Mayor Geoff Wells.
Mayor Wells said the second running of the race will be “an event to remember”.
His comments were echoed by Olympic gold medallist Steve Cram, race organiser Tim Hutchings and leader of Brighton & Hove City Council Mary Mears.
Mr Cram, who will start the race on Sunday, said the marathon has grown to the point that it can be considered as second best in Britain, behind only London. Read the rest of this entry »
By Rich Hook
Brighton Lite's Tom Stewart, Jack Bradshaw & Joe Kasper show off the Corporate Challenge trophy
Brighton Marathon organisers have unveiled three special trophies for this year’s race.
The awards, specially commissioned by race director Tim Hutchings, will go to the fastest male and female runners from Brighton and the winning team for the Mayo Wynne Baxter Corporate Challenge.
Former Olympian and World Cross-Country silver medallist Hutchings said: “The trophies are really striking with a design that manages to represent the event perfectly while also capturing the spirit of Brighton.
The fine art and engineering departments at City College Brighton & Hove (CCBH) collaborated to make the trophies.
Fine art student Joanna Brown created an innovative perspex trophy for the corporate team winners that illustrates the route and allows the runners to relive their run through the silver balls, which travel the course when the trophy is tilted.
Jo said: “I wanted to come up with a trophy that represented team commitment and endeavor.
“It’s a trophy worth running 26 miles for.”
Having designed the trophy, Joanna enlisted engineering student Matt Gray to turn the perspex glass into the award that CCBH Principal, Phil Frier, will award on Sunday.
Fellow fine art student Cadi Froehlich produced two distinctive brass trophies to reward the best of Brighton in the race.
Designers Matt, Joanna and Cadi with their trophies
Joanna said the pair have been so inspired by the process that they have set up their own bespoke-trophy making company, Trophy Wives Trophies.
The trophies will be presented at the finish of the 2011 Brighton Marathon this Sunday April 10 on Madeira Drive (race starts 9am)
By Rich Hook
For many people, running the Brighton Marathon will be a voyage into the unknown, but for one man it will just be another weekend and another race.
Terry Avey has been running marathons for 26 years, and this will be his 20th Brighton Marathon.
Terry first ran a 26 mile course when he completed the Worthing Marathon back in 1985, and said he tries to get in eight or nine marathons or half-marathons every year.
Not only does Terry run a lot of races, he wins a lot of races. So far this year he has clocked up four victories in his age class (60+) at Woodcote 10km, Romsey 10km, Hastings Half-Marathon, and Brighton Half-Marathon.
Terry Avey (left) picking up his Brighton Half-Marathon winners trophy
In this year’s Brighton Half, Terry beat his age-grading (the benchmark time for runners in different age classifications) by over nine minutes, and he believes that he is getting better with age.
He said: “It’s great to be improving my times year-on-year, and now I’ve moved up an age category I’ve started winning more regularly again. But that’s not what it’s all about – each race is an achievement in itself.
“It’s such a special feeling every time you cross the finish line.”
Terry appreciates the positive reactions he gets from other runners when he’s out training, and thinks it’s this aspect of “Brighton’s running community” which makes it easy for him to keep on running.
But more important for Terry is the contribution of volunteers “whom the race couldn’t function without.”
It’s this support and quality of organisation that makes Brighton Marathon “the second best marathon in the world, after the London Marathon,” according to Terry.
Terry Avey is running the Brighton Marathon on behalf of Chestnut Tree House.
If you want to support Terry and the 13,000 other runners, the race starts at 9am this Sunday April 10 at Preston Park.
By Daniel Bell
Training for the Brighton Marathon is tough enough.
Doing it a couple of months after the arrival of your first-born is even tougher.
Sean Heard, from Crawley, has had to fit his preparations for this Sunday’s race around the strict demands of six-month-old Ruari, born in October last year.
Sean said: “I chose my running plan because most of the runs take one hour at most.
“That way I can help my wife, Lynda, put him to bed before I leave, or get back home quickly if he’s still awake.”
Ruari keeping Dad Sean out of his running shoes
Sean, who applied for the race last year, also had his training plans affected by the extreme winter weather.
“I couldn’t train at all in December,” he said. “I only started in earnest in January with only three months to go.”
Sean’s training schedule, obtained from specialist running site Runner’s World, saw him progress gradually from a relatively easy distance of eight kilometres.
He added: “I’ve been training five days out of seven every week. I did my first 18 miler in mid-February and my second in the first week of March.”
Sean’s first 20 mile run, completed last week, gave him a taste of what is in store on Sunday. “It was very difficult but I felt I could have gone further,” he said.
“It’s 20-26 miles that I’m most worried about on the day. That’s when the pain will really start to hit.”
And what does Ruari think of it all?
“I don’t think he’s too impressed to be perfectly honest,” said Sean. “Though he might be when he’s old enough to know what a marathon is.”
Despite his son’s lack of enthusiasm, the accountant is well on course to reach his target time of three hours 50 minutes.
And the striking resemblance to Hollywood tough guy Dolph Lundgren?
“I look nothing like him.”
Read our tips for those last minute preparations before the race
By Tanya Paulo
Runners in this Sunday’s Brighton Marathon now need to take steps to allow their bodies to be as fresh an
d energised as possible before the race, a Sports lecturer has advised.
Lloyd Hooper, who tutors at City College Brighton and Hove, said: “At this stage all the hard work should have already been done.
“Runners will have put in miles of training and now need to allow their body to be as fresh and energised as possible to get them round the 26.2 mile course.
“A positive mindset is key, and with the support and entertainment expected – over 100,000 spectators – it should make for an excellent day.”
Mr Hooper offered this advice:
1. In the last few days, runners should taper training with a couple of light, short distance runs, ending with stretching to prevent muscle tightness.
2. Ideal marathon diet is pasta, rice or other starchy foods to increase carbohydrate intake in the days leading up to Sunday, especially Saturday night.
3. Runners choosing to eat breakfast would need to do so at least two hours before 9am, when the race starts, to avoid any discomfort during the run.
4. Energy drinks, gels or sweets will help maintain energy levels around the course: powerade and energy shots will be available at various posts.
5. Fine weather is forecast for Sunday, so runners should make use of the water stations to avoid dehydration.
6. Clothing should be comfortable – stick to what worked during training – with sports clothing, which draws sweat away from the skin, being ideal.
7. Go for a light jog and do dynamic stretching exercises to warm the body before the race.
Read how one new dad has had to juggle training with a baby
2011, Brighton, Brighton Fringe Festival, Brighton Marathon, Drink, Food, Royal Escape
Review 2011 April-June 2011
In Comment, Entertainment, News, Uncategorized on December 20, 2011 at 12:00 AMBy Rebecca Hele
Brighton Fringe Festival 2011- http://www.flickr.com/photos/heatherbuckley/5769146122/
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