Guild Care runners Laura Mackley and Bob Phipps raised over £1,500 in Brighton's first ever Marathon.
The conditions were tough with very warm weather and the sun beating down on the runners. It took 20 minutes for 7,650 runners to pass the start line in Preston Park and 7,000 runners had finished after 6 hours.Bob Phipps, Guild Care's Operations Director (Community Services) ran his first (and now possibly last!) marathon and achieved his goal of finishing in under 4 hours, with a great time of 3hrs 52 minutes.
Not as fast but a greater fundraiser was Care Assistant Laura Mackley who juggles part-time shifts at Ashmount and Caer Gwent while studying for a Nursing Degree at Brighton University. This was Laura’s first marathon and she did herself proud raising over £1,000.
Laura said 'I chose Guild Care as I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to raise money for a worthy cause and where I can see the benefits of my fundraising. I've worked for the charity for nearly 4 years and took my NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care while working at Caer Gwent.
Over 80,000 spectators lined the streets of Brighton and Hove encouraging and clapping the runners on their way. Hotel balconies were filled with people and there was even a flotilla of boats offshore.
Brighton's Olympic Gold Medallist Steve Ovett started the race and congratulated the organisers on how well the event had gone.