Run for life
Published 6 April 2010
Event 18 April 2010
University staff running in the inaugural Brighton Marathon on 18 April are supporting a host of charities dedicated to relieving and treating diseases and disabilities.
They are appealing for more sponsors as they pound the pavements in preparation for the 26-mile run which starts in Preston Park and ends in Madeira Drive.
University security officer Paul Roberts will be running in what will be his tenth marathon while his wife Amanda, a university insurance officer, will be walking the course. They are raising money in memory of their three-year-old son Spencer who died from a rare form of cancer two years ago.
Amanda said: "I can't run because of a back problem but I'm determined to walk the course. We are all committed to helping other families who suffer the same tragedy we did – our ten-year-old daughter Amalia also raises money."
Their Remember Spencer website explains how to sponsor them and where the money goes.
Laura Bottomley, senior research administrator in Health Professions, lost her fiancé, 2ndLT Jonathan Carlos Bracho-Cooke, in 2007 when he was killed in action in Iraq. She said: "Jonny was so courageous and incredibly caring and giving. He believed strongly in helping others."
In 2008, Laura started raising money for the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association (Blesma): "I am running in memory of a great friend and true soldier who stopped at nothing to help others.
"The pain of this loss is immense and unrelenting but by running the marathon, I hope to use Jonny’s memory to help his fellow heroes."
Sponsor Laura Bottomley.
Emma Illingworth, assistant information adviser in the School of Environment and Technology, is running for The Cinnamon Trust, the only national charity which seeks to relieve anxieties and problems faced by the elderly and terminally ill people and their pets.
Sponsor Emma Illingworth.
Helen Abrahams, student advice service coordinator with Student Services, is supporting Medecins Sans Frontieres, the independent international medical humanitarian organisation that delivers emergency aid around the world.
Sponsor Helen Abrahams.
Anne Solley, faculty administrative assistant and PA in Education and Sport Faculty Office, is running on behalf of The Martlets Hospice in Hove. Anne said: "I made the decision to support a local charity and since the Martlets does such a wonderful job and is close to where I live, it fitted the bill."
Sponsor Anne Solley.
Beth Tilston, project officer in the Science and Engineering Faculty Office, is running in aid of the Bees for Development Trust, an international charity working to promote sustainable beekeeping in developing countries and to support livelihoods and conserve biodiversity.
Sponsor Beth Tilston.
Bernadette (Bernie) McGinley, school administration manager for Arts and Media, is appealing for sponsors to support UNICEF. She said: "Having been to Cambodia and Vietnam and having seen the great work they are doing in Haiti, I thought UNICEF would be a charity name people would know and would want to support."
Sponsor Bernie McGinley.
Stephen Wright, desktop systems IT support in Information Services, is running on behalf of Cancer Research UK. "My father passed away over five years ago from cancer and never got the chance to meet his grandchildren. Most people are touched by cancer somewhere in their family and I want to raise money to help research for treatments."
Sponsor Stephen Wright.
Becca Eaton, personnel assistant in Personnel, is running to raise money for the British Heart Foundation. She said: "My family has experienced some heart problems over the years and I felt this was a good way to raise money for research. Heart disease is a major problem so I hope people will back me."
Sponsor Becca Eaton.
Susan Diab, lecturer in Arts and Media, is supporting the charity Impact which runs innovative services across Sussex to help people with mental health needs and disabilities, older people, young women with housing needs, young people and adults with learning difficulties, and children and young people's services.
Sponsor Susan Diab.
Stephen Lambert, senior catering officer at Eastbourne, is not being sponsored but will be making a donation to the British Heart Foundation and Hurstwood Park Neurological hospital in Haywards Heath where a friend was treated for a stroke.
He has run the London marathon twice and recommends marathons as a means to keep fit, but he added: "You have to take them seriously and put in the hours and effort.
"It really is a case of 'No pain, no gain'."
Find out more
You can find out more on the Brighton Marathon website.
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