Gosport Road Runners donate £14,000 to local charities

It is also the 38th year that the club is hosting the Gosport Half Marathon, a great achievement from its members both past and present. All of the profits from this event are given to charities and good causes.

The club held a charity awards evening at Gosport & Fareham RFC and Race Director Neil Elshaw handed out £14,000 to 17 local charities - all of which had been nominated by the club members.

A club spokeperson said: ‘It was a lovely relaxed evening with some truly inspirational and humbling stories. Sometimes a relatively small amount of money can make a huge difference to these groups as they do not attract the support which the larger national charities receive.’

One ‘good cause’ was the 1st Alverstoke Guides who received £600, cash that will enable them to subsidise some of the cost of their summer Guide Camp and also

to make a few upgrades to their equipment.

Another was ‘The Plan B AP CIC’ which received £1,000. They are a Community Interest Company based in Gosport that has an alternative approach to education in

supporting young people aged 11-24 who are, for whatever reason, unable to engage with mainstream education.

Students have an option to learn carpentry/boat building skills, as well as joinery for building and construction trades. Part of the programme is learning to sail inshore and offshore vessels.

This year’s Half Marathon, which normally attracts between 1,500-2,000 runners, is being held on Sunday November 19.

It is the highlight of the year for the club and a great community event with involvement from eight local youth groups, Radio Haslar, Big Noise Samba Band, and the Hovercraft and Diving Museums. ‘The youth groups enjoy the day and, with their enthusiasm and willingness to help, create a great community atmosphere,’ the spokesperson added.

Entries for the race are now open – visit https://gosporthalf.org/

For more information on the club, visit https://gosportroadrunners.org.uk