Whether you’re a beginner or pro runner the good news is there’s plenty of time to train for The Chichester Half Marathon 2014 and registration is open!

This year, we’ve opened registration bright and early in January for all those folks full of New Year resolve, looking for a great fitness challenge to work towards in October.

The 'Chi Half' is a challenging and beautiful ‘multi terrain’ half marathon organised by Children on the Edge, in conjunction with Chichester District Council and sponsored by Montezuma’s Chocolates and Store Property.  

The race is now in it’s 3rd year after doubling its entries at the last October 2013 event and raising nearly £31,000 for our work with forgotten children living in in some of the toughest situations across the globe. 

The route includes a mixture of road, cross country and cycle path terrain; taking in both the historic sites of Chichester and some spectacular views from the pinnacle of the South Downs. 

Registration opened yesterday (13th Jan) and with this early start even non runners could start their training now in order to complete the race in October. Training support will be offered for all levels of participants from new runners through to past competitors hoping to achieve a personal best.

If running really isn’t for you but you’d like to be involved in a great event which brings the community together, then think about volunteering. Roles include marshalling at different points along the race route; manning water tables and handing out medals and goodie bags at the finish. Just contact Amy Chamberlain by e-mailing achamberlain@chichester.gov.uk or by calling 01243 534797.

The event will take place on Sunday 12th of October. You are advised to sign up early as places go quickly, and discounts apply until the 12th April 2014. ‘Early bird’ prices are £21 for EA affiliated club members and £23 for unattached and other runners. 

Sign up for the race and get sponsored for Children on the Edge!

Image courtesy of Sussex Sports Photography

We often cross paths with some pretty lovely people here at Children on the Edge and recently we were delighted to meet the Hodgson family who have been extremely hard at work fundraising for our projects.

Naturally  we'd like you to have the opportunity to meet them too. In the photo on the left we have (L-R) Ed, Jamie, Jane, Poppy the dog (and Michael’s training partner), Michael, Tom and Chloe. 

Michael Hodgson, who lives in South Harting and is Chairman of Douglas and Gordon Estate Agents in London, has raised over £4,500 in sponsorship (including an amazing £500 from one client in Yorkshire) when he ran the Chichester Half Marathon in October. Running alongside him was his second son, Jamie, who had also been busy raising over £850.

Their family efforts didn’t stop at running 13.1 miles however!  A few weeks prior to the half marathon, the eldest Hodgson son, Tom, swam an epic 10km down the River Dart in Devon. Known as being a gruelling yet beautiful outdoor swimming challenge, Tom was pleased to complete the race and raised over £1400 in sponsorship money. He describes his day:

“We were lucky with the conditions with the sun shining and the wind and current in our favour. 700 swimmers left Totnes in Devon in 4 waves from about 1pm and we weaved our way 10km to the finish at Dittisham.

It was pretty tough, especially during the last couple of kilometres but apart from the odd stray foot in the face (!) there weren't any mishaps and it was a great event to be a part of. I'm now looking forward to spending a little less of my life counting the tiles on the bottom of swimming pools!"

Overall, the family have raised just over £7,400 which will have an incredible impact on our projects. We'd like to say a huge thank you to the Hodgson's and encourage any readers who are inspired by their achievements  to get in touch. 

Maybe you would like to get your family involved with fundraising for Children on the Edge with an activity you can all do together, perhaps not as training-intensive as a half marathon but maybe a sponsored bike ride or a family bake-off? Just e-mail Beckie with your plans and ideas.