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***January 2021 edit - due to the actual Brighton Marathon being postponed & us deferring our marathon entry to April 2022, we are making our marathon a more local event - see updates for info***

So yes, it’s happening – Vanessa & Justin & Barry are signed up to do the Brighton Marathon on Sunday 18^th April 2021!  We must be crazy?!

For me (Vanessa) it’s not something I’ve ever dreamed of doing to be honest! My fitness journey started in Nov 2018 when I joined my local gym. My hubby Anthony had proposed to me on 1^st Jan 2018 & I knew I had just under a year until the wedding & I wanted to look my absolute best. Feb 2019 I decided to go for a little 5k run with my friend Jo, she was part of a running group & did “Park Run” on Saturdays so I thought I’d give that a go too - I think that is when I started getting the running bug! I then managed to talk Justin into running with me after work (he was more of a treadmill runner whereas I was getting bored doing that in the gym) & since then we’ve run a few times a week & at weekends together & I think it’s safe to say I’m/we’re quite hooked on it! We even stuck with it through the winter months which is tough but we still did it! 

We’ve got 3 races under our belt now; a 10 mile, a ½ marathon & a 10k. 3 medals hanging with pride at home but sadly due to the virus we had races cancelled (1 of our 3 races was a Virtual 10k!). I tried to run on my own during lockdown but I just didn’t enjoy it so I told myself I’d get back into it soon. Justin & I are now back into & for some reason we’ve decided to sign up for the 2021 Brighton Marathon!  And to make it even more “fun” (if you can call it that?!), we’ve managed to get Barry to sign up too! The 3 of us make a great team & although Barry’s legs are way longer than mine & Justin’s, I wouldn’t want to go over that finish line with anyone else – just hope Barry hangs around & waits for us at the end so we can go over it together?!  Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, every donation will be very much appreciated. Love Vanessa. x

I (Justin) was a significantly fat kid. PE was an exercise only in humiliation & school cross country would literally make me sick with dread. I have always struggled with my weight mainly through typical desk job inactivity combined with TV watching! My major turning point was purchasing a 1^st generation 2015 Apple Watch and obsessively obeying this personal trainer on my wrist. I still have an Apple Watch but more importantly I also now have Vanessa as a running buddy……both are equally clever but Vanessa’s energy never seems to run out! 

After experiencing the pain of a half marathon I can’t believe I was daft enough to say yes to a full one! What motivates me is raising money for Mind. 1 in 4 of us will suffer with mental health issues every year & the highest cause of death for men under 35 is suicide. If you can spare some cash please invest here. Much love, Justin. 

What have I (Barry) done?!?!?

Doing a marathon has always been on my list & is one of those things I have just never committed to. As a kid I was always interested in running, having run cross country at county level & done several ½ marathons in my teens, it all came to a halt when I went to University!

30 years on, & somehow I now think it’s a good idea, although I’m not sure my family do. Let’s be clear, Justin & Vanessa are definitely to blame!  

April 2021 is a long way off & 10 months to prepare seems like a long time, however I’m sure there will be many days between now & then that I regret this decision. That said, having committed, this is going to happen, besides as soon as the donations for charity start rolling in, you just cant back out!  Barry.

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