Luisa Gretton running Brighton Half Marathon for Rise

Luisa Gretton from Brighton is running the upcoming Brighton Half Marathon for Rise and shares her reasons for running and for supporting the charity. There are four Charity Ambassadors representing the four largest charity teams at the 2014 race on 16th February, including Luisa Gretton for Rise, Judy Foote for WaterAid, Aoife McCauley for Scope and Danny Dwyer for The Sussex Beacon.

The Charity Ambassadors are supported with practical advice and receive sports products from Brighton Half Marathon and its partners, including ASICS, Runners Need, TomTom, Lucozade Sport and Studio57 Clinic.

Luisa only took up running a couple of years ago but has since then caught the running bug and is passionate about raising money for Brighton based domestic abuse charity Rise. Luisa is running four races over six months to raise money for Rise, including the Brighton Half Marathon next Sunday.

Luisa said: “I hated sports at school, especially the annual cross country race so I surprised myself when I took up running a couple of years ago to get fit and actually enjoyed it! Now, I’m continuing to challenge myself by running four races over six months to raise money for Rise. I started with the Rise Undercliff 8K Run in October and will finish with the Brighton Marathon in April. My next race is the Brighton Half Marathon which I am very much looking forward to, and hopefully there will be lots of locals lining the streets to cheer us runners on!

“As a full-time student and mum of three it’s hard to find the time to train but finishing a race, however slowly, is really rewarding and Rise is a great charity to support.”

Rise offer services such as refuge, counselling, housing advice and education to local people affected by domestic abuse in Brighton & Hove and West Sussex. It is estimated that one in four women will experience this type of abuse during their lives and two women each week are murdered in the UK as a result of domestic abuse.

Anyone wishing to support Luisa can donate by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/Luisa-Gretton.
Luisa added: “Each call to Rise’s helpline costs an average of £8 to answer so if you can donate just this much it will make a difference.”

Further details about Rise can be found on www.riseuk.org.uk

The Brighton Half Marathon is organised by and the main fundraising event for The Sussex Beacon, a care centre in Brighton supporting men, women and families affected by HIV.