West Sussex marathon runners

Nina Hood-Leeder, 28, from Broadwater, has been training with her faithful husky Kira to get her ready for the marathon.

Nina, who got her place through EDF Energy, which she works for in Crawley, has been taking daily four-mile runs along Worthing seafront with two-year-old Kira by her side.

She said: "She just loves running and I always take her with me when I'm training. She's even starting to pace herself and match my run now.

"But she won't be able to join in the actual London Marathon '“ I think that would be a bit much for her."

Nina hopes to raise 3,000 for Mencap from the race.

Elizabeth Fairs, 24, of Goring Road, Goring, will be running her first marathon but, as the current Worthing Swimming Club diving champion, she is no stranger to competition.

She comes from a sporting family.

Her brother Michael is a Sussex under 25 bowler.

Her father, John, and uncle, David, both played cricket for Broadwater and she is running to raise money for a cause that has affected them both.

She said: "I have decided to run for the British Heart Foundation, as both my dad and uncle have had to have heart surgery and I feel it is a worthy cause."

Taxi driver Brian Friend is set to swap his cab for running shoes as he prepares to take part in the London Marathon.

The 53-year-old, who works for Taxi-Link, will be running the 26.2-mile race to raise money for the Alzheimer's Research Trust charity.

Brian, who lives in Greenways Crescent, Shoreham, said the cause was one close to his heart.

"My mum died of Alzheimer's in 1999," he said. "This is my way of saying a belated 'thank you'.

"Everyone is at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease; there are currently half-a-million sufferers in the UK with this number predicted to double within 20 years."

An experienced runner, Brian last completed the London Marathon 11 years ago, and this time hopes to complete the race in three hours and 15 minutes.

He has recently completed the Brighton and Hastings half-marathon events, as well as the Worthing 20-mile race, as he builds up to the big day, on Sunday, April 22.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Brian can do so by visiting his fund-raising website, www.justgiving.com/brian44

Liz Mitchell, 39, from Pulborough, will be running in aid of Children with Leukaemia.

She said: "I'm a teaching assistant so I wanted to help a children's charity. I lost my brother-in-law to cancer a few years ago, so this seemed the natural choice."

John Phillips, 23, is running his second marathon in aid of Storrington-based charity the Mary How Trust for Cancer Prevention.

John, from Midhurst, knows the charity well as his mother Penny is a nurse there.

A keen runner and hockey player, he said: "Bar the final 10 miles, it really is an awesome day.

"The crowd and atmosphere is fantastic. The runners all help each other along the way and, most importantly, loads of money is raised for charity."

Carolyn Wilson, 48, will be running her first marathon. The Storrington-based nurse, who works at Midhurst Community Hospital, will be raising money for a cause which is close to her heart.

She said: "I chose the Royal National Institute for the Deaf because my father, Geoffrey Wilson, is profoundly deaf and I realise what a devastating effect this can have on a family."

Carolyn has pledged to raise at least 1,225 for the RNID.

Littlehampton jeweller Sophie Guess hopes her watch will be showing a good time at the end of her first-ever marathon.

Sophie, 31, pictured right, who works for the High Street family firm L. Guess Jewellers, has been training hard with other members of the Worthing Striders running club, covering up to 20 miles at a time across the Downs to the Steyning Bowl and back.

"I regularly do 10k races, but never anything as big as this," said Sophie, who lives in Angmering.

"I have found it a real challenge, and much harder work than I had anticipated."

She will be running in aid of Horsham-based charity Action Medical Research, which investigates less high-profile conditions.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Sophie can pick up a sponsor form in the shop, or visit www.action.org.uk and follow the links to sponsor a friend, marathon and Guess, Sophie.

Matthew Croker, 30, of Thakeham Copse, Storrington, was inspired to take part after his father, Alan, was diagnosed with leukaemia in March last year and died three months later.

Mr Croker said: "I watched last year's marathon with my dad in hospital and mentioned that I was thinking of running for Leukaemia Research.

"He thought that it would be a good idea."

Mr Croker is hoping to raise 2,500 and he and his family are organising several private events to raise the money.

For more marathon stories, see Thursday's Worthing Herald.

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