Novice runners lace up for Littlehampton 10k

TWO novice runners from Littlehampton are bracing themselves to join hundreds of other fundraisers in the town’s annual 10k race.
By The Newsroom
Published 18th Aug 2015, 10:40 BST
Nick Jones, left, with Daniel Burdfield, both 18. Together, they are tackling the Chestnut Tree House 10k in Littlehampton, next month.Nick Jones, left, with Daniel Burdfield, both 18. Together, they are tackling the Chestnut Tree House 10k in Littlehampton, next month.
Nick Jones, left, with Daniel Burdfield, both 18. Together, they are tackling the Chestnut Tree House 10k in Littlehampton, next month.

Teenagers Nick Jones and Daniel Burdfield have both signed up to tackle next month’s, run which is being organised by Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice.

And with little more than two weeks to go until they lace up their jogging shoes, the duo have told of their mounting excitement.

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Daniel is a Scout leader with the 5th Littlehampton Sea Scouts and has aspirations of earning the movement’s highest accolade – the Queen’s Scout Award.

Both he and Nick are doing the run as part of their bid to gain a gold award in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme – which is vital in clinching the Queen’s Scout Award.

Daniel, of Cornwall Road, Littlehampton, said: “I have been on a diet trying to slim down and I get my cardio up by doing runs along the seafront.

“It’s our first time doing any sort of run like this and to be honest, I’m worried that we won’t be able to do it.”

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He said he was inspired by his older brother, Rory, who this year completed the Brighton Marathon.

Daniel has lofty ambitions of emulating this achievement in a couple of years – with a bit more practice, that is.

The 10k will take place on September 6 and will see fundraisers running a route along the town’s coastal beauty spots, towards Rustington and back again.

Nick, of Western Road, Littlehampton, was celebrating his successful crop of A-Levels on Thursday.

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Speaking of his run, he said: “I’m really looking forward to it. We have had really good preparation for it.

“Training has been difficult though. The second week we were training it was snowing and there was ice everywhere.”

Both of the lads – who are former students at The Littlehampton Academy – have already smashed their fundraising target of £100.

However, they’re hoping to raise even more cash.

Speaking of Chestnut Tree House, in Poling, Daniel said: “These children don’t have much of a life to live and they won’t be able to live through most of the high points that everyone else would. So to be able to go to Chestnut Tree House and enjoy yourself like you have never been able to before and perhaps never will, is humbling. It’s an amazing charity.”

To donate to Nick and Daniel, click here.

For more details about the run, see here.