Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

Thanks to our runners in the 2012 Brighton Marathon.

We received this account of the trials of the race from Brendon Bezuidenhout who was running in aid of Born Free and completed the race in comfortably under 4 hours.

"I had an absolutely smashing time on Sunday while taking part in the Brighton Marathon, before, during and after; the atmosphere was electrified by all the supporters which merged beautifully with the dedication from all of us who were running. I attempted to track down the other 3 people who were running for Born Free before the start so that we could possibly run together and if nothing else give a bit more moral support – alas there were so many people it was hard to find them.

The race proper started well and was one of the highlights of the run – just prior to the 200 yard mark there was a banner saying it was all down hill from there (as it was the highest point of the course) and at the 200 yard mark there was another banner saying we only had another 26 miles to go; both of which put a smile on my face for the first half and the real test of endurance started – I’ve never run a  marathon before let alone any further than 13.1 miles before.

13.1 miles in and we passed the Hilton hotel with a HM split of 2 hours and 4 minutes – not my best for a HM but still I had to do the same distance all over again if I was going to finish the entire marathon. From there on in the supporters were a constant source of energy and motivation to carry on; one foot in front of the other over and over again. Seeing the small children on the side of the roads holding their hands out wanting a high five and the look of thrill and screech of joy each time a runner dug a little deeper and high fived them – utter bliss and I’m not ashamed to admit that I partook on several occasions. Thinking back on it now gives me goose bumps and brings a small tear to my eye.

20 miles in and the road to hell was looming getting ever closer; I was concerned as I hadn’t hit the “wall” most veteran runners had told me about; that point when your body runs out of carbohydrates and it feels like you really have hit a wall and can’t carry on. Boy was I glad I never hit it sooner: Shoreham harbour and the road to the power station were where it happened and at the most boring part of the course; next to no supporters and nothing but the docks to see.

24 miles out roughly and I could see the Brighton Pier in the distance the wheel barely visible but I knew it was there and just beyond – THE FINISH! I’ve never dug deeper in my entire life than I did for those last 4 miles; I could feel my legs giving out and my feet crying for the cool embrace of the sea, to be out of my shoes and off the long hard road. All along the side of the course there were runners stopping to walk or stopped from over exertion, my heart went out to them after coming so far to fall at the last hurdle must have stung really badly.

The finish line loomed after the longest run along the seafront I’ve encountered in the last year since I started running – more and more people were edging all the runners on as we got closer to the end... 1 mile... 800 meters... Brighton Pier... The Wheel – And then my family all there screaming their lungs off for me; so loud and with so much love and support I heard them through my music and headphones. That was the last push I needed to go those last few meters and complete my first marathon ever."

You can still sponsor Brendon @ http://www.justgiving.com/BornFree-BB