Brighton’s famous marathon returned to its usual time of year with thousands running through the city raising money for charity.
Over 8,200 runners took part in the Brighton Marathon this April, the first event of its kind to take place with no COVID restrictions. This meant that spectators were out in force to support the runners along the whole course, including our own Rockinghorse cheer station outside the Old Ship Hotel.
Eleven of those participating were running in aid of Rockinghorse Children’s Charity and between them raised almost £5,000, which will be put to good use funding a range of projects throughout the county.
These include art therapy sessions, woodland wellbeing days and sea swimming sessions for young people living with chronic medical conditions, neonatal ventilators for premature babies and sensory equipment for children who are spending a long time in hospital.
Jennifer Talman with her race medal
After the disruption and postponement of the previous events, the organisers of this year’s marathon put in place a range of measures aimed at keeping runners, volunteers and spectators safe. Along with staggered arrival times and social distancing measures, there was careful planning to avoid supporter congestion and increased sanitation facilities.
But none of these measures dampened the spirits with the runners all being really pleased to be able to take part once again in this popular event.
Jennifer Talman became our top fundraiser, raising £1,500, who wanted to raise money for Rockinghorse after the experience she had with her daughter Emily. Jennifer said: “After Emily was born, she was transferred to the Trevor Mann Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Brighton where she spent time with the amazing doctors, nurses and incredibly fancy technology to help with any potential brain damage following her birth.
Chris Mallinson after the race
“I still think about this experience a lot and the time that was spent worrying over the next couple of years. The outcome wouldn’t have changed much for us. However, it has been an absolute privilege to watch her thrive during her first year of school and I am now often overwhelmed by memories of the help she was able to receive from the moment she was born.”
On the day itself, Jennifer was quite overwhelmed: “I was very emotional and proud going past the Rockinghorse cheer points and the hospital, particularly because it was Emily’s birthday party the day before the marathon.”
Another runner supporting Rockinghorse was Chris Mallinson who raised £1,170. Chris said: “We had our daughter last July who had sepsis and was looked after at the Trevor Mann Baby Unit for a few days. I am eternally grateful for this and wanted to give something back.”
This event also marked the first time that we have joined forces with All Recycle and the marathon organisers Grounded Events to recycle the unwanted clothing from the runners after the event. This resulted in collecting 2590kg of clothing that will go to families from Ukraine as well as being recycled for textile clothing companies – all raising more funds for Rockinghorse.
Amanda from Rockinghorse with the All Recycle Team
Emma Cunliffe, Supporter Engagement Manager at Rockinghorse, was there to support the charity’s runners on the day. She said: “What a fantastic day! This was my first Brighton marathon event that has taken place in Brighton since I joined Rockinghorse last month, and it was absolutely wonderful to be able to see everyone and cheer all our runners on. It really was a fantastic atmosphere.
“And I would like to say a big thank you to all our runners. They have raised a great amount for us, and we really appreciate all their hard work and commitment. See you next year!”
We always have lots of challenge events going on that you can sign up for to fundraise for us, so why not take a look at our events page to find out more or contact Emma at emm@rockinghorse.org.uk or call us on 01273 330044.
