Charity Night
Special Edition Newsletter
Dear fellow runners,
For the past thirty-nine years our club has hosted The Gosport Half Marathon and in doing so has enabled us to support local good causes for each and every one of those years. No-one has kept account of the amount we have been able to donate but it most probably exceeds £150,000 and is a great credit to all our present and past members who have voluntarily given their time and effort in making this race such a great success over so many years.
This year the charity evening was held for the first time at the Alverbank Hotel which really is a great venue and location.
The staff there did everything they could to ensure that the evening went smoothly and the comments from those attending were very complementary and hopefully we have now found a new home for our future charity evenings.
Race day is very much a community event with eight youth groups, a Samba Band and Gosport Hospital Radio joining us on the route. In addition to giving encouragement there will be approximately two hundred of us looking after the well-being and safety of the participants. All of those groups who assist on race day are beneficiaries from the surplus profits of the race.
Last year, with major building works commencing at the King’s Academy Bay House the event was moved across the road to the Academy’s Community Sports Centre. This relatively new building, with its excellent facilities, sporting pitches and playing fields, caused the Race Committee to pause and re-think the opportunities now available for enhancing the main event and also giving all children under seventeen years of age the chance to race for their school or club to win a prize of £500 to purchase sporting equipment of their choice. Further information on the revised children’s events is included in the newsletter.
Each year the race is started by the Mayor of Gosport and we are honoured this year that the Mayor is Kirsten Bradley who as we all know, is a long standing club member and it will be particularly significant on our fortieth anniversary. Each year we also donate to the Mayor’s chosen charities.
All the beneficiaries of your efforts are included in this newsletter and we would like to thank you all for making this possible and look forward to your support again on the 16th November 2025.
Yours in running,
Race Committee
In Conjunction with Gosport Half Marathon
A Fun Run and Athletic Challenge for Young People
Can your school beat Lee on the Solent Juniors this year to claim the £500 reward towards sports equipment?
Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School and participants from Years 3, 4 and 6.
For over twenty years, in conjunction with the Gosport Half Marathon, Gosport Road Runners have hosted a Fun Run for young children at Bay House School (now King’s Academy Bay House).
Last year a second more challenging race event was introduced, targeted mainly at older children (U17) and for those with a more competitive spirit, whatever their age. The original event however, remains what it has always been, which is a Fun Run for children under 12 and where parents can accompany their children should they wish.
Every entrant is given a race number and their finishing time digitally recorded.
All the young people, whatever their age, receive a medal and a ‘Goodie Bag’ for finishing (no medal for parents though!). The first three boys and girls in each event are presented with special trophies depicting their final position.
Although these events are open to all children, we were able to offer an additional prize of £500 to the school or club with the largest number of entrants for the purchase of sporting equipment of their choice.
Last year’s winner was Lee-on-the-Solent Junior School with 31 entrants and they were presented with a cheque at their school assembly by Andy Clutton who is the organiser for the Children’s races. The school has used the prize money to purchase PE and breaktime equipment including rugby balls, football nets and basketballs to support the range of sports on offer in both PE lessons and free time.
It was very gratifying to see how the teachers had incorporated and presented these events to the children to show how they can challenge themselves to achieve their own personal ambitions whatever they should be.
“The Gosport Half Marathon Fun Run and Challenge runs offered children in our school community the chance to participate in a local community event, as well as compete in a race environment. The event was well planned, and an excellent opportunity for those more competitive in spirit, including members of our school Athletics Team, and those who wanted a personal challenge and to demonstrate their school values of Resilience, Self-Regulation and Independence”, said Miss Melly, Deputy Headteacher.
This Year’s Fun Run and Challenge Race
This year’s race medal has been designed by Lee on Solent Juniors.
Both of these events are being held again this year on Sunday 16th November, in conjunction with the Gosport Half Marathon, and Gosport Road Runners would like to invite local children, Schools and Clubs to take part.
The under 12 children’s Fun Run will start at 9:00 am distance 1km and the under 17 Challenge Race will start at 9:15 am distance 2km.
There will also be a mass warm up session led by Bootcamp UK at 8:45 prior to both junior events.
Entry into either race is £3.00 and there is a limit on the number of children allowed to take part.
The Good Causes that Gosport Road Runners have been able to help
Gosport Borough Cricket Club – Nominated by Andy Faichen
A donation of £500 was made to support junior members to enjoy and learn about cricket in a fun environment.
The donation is being used to buy new equipment, stumps, bats and balls.
Partners Through Pain – Nominated by Gary Francis
A voluntary group of approximately 30 members who suffer from chronic pain symptoms. They try to remain active and connect with like-minded people to prevent feeling isolated.
A donation of £500 was made to this group and in addition the Alverbank Hotel donated £250. This charity is also one of the Mayor’s chosen charities.
Our donation will go towards day trips and guest speakers
The Mayor’s Charities – Nominated by Race Committee
We donated £1000 to the Mayors charity. Each year the incumbent Mayor nominates three charities to support during their term in office and for 2024/2025 these good causes were:
Level Up Gosport
Cedaroak – Pregnancy Crisis Counselling
Plan B
A Facebook post from Kirsten
“As a member of Gosport Road Runners for almost 20 years, I was absolutely delighted to attend their charity cheque giving event.
Each year the Gosport Road Runners organise a fantastic half marathon that sees around 2000 runners looking for a PB or the very big achievement of completing a half marathon, while taking in the beautiful views of the sea.
The race will celebrate its 40th anniversary this year, and it’s not just about providing an excellent run. The club members and committee work all year to make the day a success, ensuring every requirement is covered. Many community groups volunteer to help with goodie bag packing, water stations etc- it’s a great team effort. The club donates thousands of pounds from the money raised from the race, to charities in Gosport who have been nominated by the members. They also donated £1000 to the Mayors charity for 2024-2025.
As you can see, I am super proud to wear my club colours along with my chain. They really are an asset to the community in so many ways.”
Gateway Pre-Schools – Nominated by Gary Francis
A donation of £500 was awarded to this group who offer pre-school care and education for children aged 2 – 5 years.
Our donation will help fund additional security at the entrance, some replacement fencing and external play equipment to support the children.Motor Neuron Disease – Nominated by Andy Clutton
A donation of £300 was awarded to this charity. Graeme Lloyd who was one of the dinosaurs at the children’s races walked from Lee-on-the-Solent to the London Marathon start line and then took part in the event itself – while dressed as a dinosaur. He and his team of dinosaurs took eight days to complete the gruelling challenge and raised over £13,000 for this charity.
7th Gosport Scout Group – Nominated by Shirley Faichen
A donation of £500 was made to supply items for the scout patrol boxes such as maps, stoves, ropes and compasses.
Alverbridge Nursery – Nominated by Paul Street
A charity that provides outstanding care to approximately ninety children from 0 – 4 years old from within the local community.
A donation of £500 was awarded to provide opportunities for the children to learn about planting and growing, enabling the nursery to develop their front garden. Many of the children that attend the nursery do not have access to outdoor spaces and the donation would offer a great opportunity for the children to enjoy and develop those outdoor areas of the nursery.
Gosport Dolphins Swimming Club – Nominated by Dulcie Newbrook
The club provides high quality swimming instruction and competitive coaching to the local community. It aims to foster a love for the water while equipping individuals with essential learn to swim skills. The donation will be directly invested in enriching the experience of our swimmers and providing enhanced training opportunities and events.
A £500 donation was awarded.
Cats Protection League Gosport – Nominated by the Race Committee
This nomination was made as a ‘thank you’ to HCC Construction who provide a flatbed vehicle for clearing up our road barriers at no charge. A donation of £50 was awarded.
Big Noise Community Samba Band – Nominated by the
Race Committee
This band has performed at the Gosport Half Marathon for over ten years. They are normally positioned at Monks Hill car park and the runners enjoy running to the beat of the drums.
They received £500.
Gosport Hospital Radio – Nominated by the
Race Committee
Located at the start/finish of the race. This radio station has been in operation since 1993. It provides a 24-hour local broadcasting service for the Gosport War Memorial Hospital, hospices, care homes and patients receiving care in the community. The charity received £500.
The Youth Groups who are with us on race day
Each year these groups support the event and are located at Race Headquarters, on the course, at the water stations or as marshals and we donated £500 to each one.
3rd Sea Scout Group
Police Cadets
1st Alverstoke Guides
Fire Cadets
Level Up
16th Scout Group
Bodiworks
Finally, a special mention and thanks to ‘Bodiworks’ who for the past three years have given their time and equipment to providing a free pre and after massage service to the runners with all voluntary donations received being given to our chosen charities. Both Cliff and Janet are Stubbington Green members and most Saturdays you will see them at the Lee-on-the-Solent parkrun (Cliff has recently stepped down as one of the Run Directors).