Clergy put on their Sunday'¨best for Great South Run

From the left are The Very Reverend David Brindley, Dean of Portsmouth; The Canon Debbie Sutton; The Reverend Dawn Banting and Canon Chancellor Peter Leonard

The world’s leading 10-mile run, which takes place on Sunday, October 23, will once again take in the iconic landmarks of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, the Spinnaker Tower and Portsmouth’s Anglican Cathedral before finishing on the seafront with its views across to the Isle of Wight.

This year runners from the cathedral, which competitors will pass on the first mile of the course, will be raising money in support of local charities.

The Dean of Portsmouth, the Very Reverend David Brindley, Canon Chancellor Peter Leonard, Lay Canon Debbie Sutton, and parishioners Mark Pittaway and Georgie Poole will all be running for The EC Roberts Centre.

The centre is a unique child-focused charity in Portsmouth providing services across the city as well as in Havant, Gosport, Southampton, and Aldershot, offering a range of services offering help to homeless families or dealing with the issues of relationship breakdown.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth Cathedral marketing co-ordinator John Bolt will be running again this year for The Elizabeth Foundation.

Fiona Heath, the fundraising manager at The Elizabeth Foundation, said: ‘As we celebrate our 35th birthday this year we are extremely grateful to our loyal supporters such as John and his sponsors as it is down to the generosity of the public who have enabled us to help families not only in Portsmouth and the surrounding areas but those who travel from nine counties so their deaf children can learn to listen and speak.

‘This September, 84 babies and pre-school children will be joining our specialist programmes, none of which would be possible without community support.’

The weekend also features the Great South 5k, an event for first-time runners looking to take their first steps to the longer distance, and the Junior and Mini Great South Run, for the runners of the future.

The weekend has grown into a festival of sport, with nearly 30,000 people taking part in four events across the two days.

To enter the Great South Run, Great South Run 5k or the Junior and Mini Great South Run, visit greatrun.org/South ers.

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