Medals all yours – and you don’t have to run!
They’re souvenirs from a race that made headlines three decades ago and has since been revived to great effect.
And organisers want to see if they can find a good home for them.
Organisers of the Chichester Half Marathon have discovered a clutch of medals from the days when the race was new to the city.
They don’t want to throw them out and are wondering if anyone who ran the race back in the day would like them.
Alternatively, the thinking is that a local school may like to take ownership of them and use them to reward young athletes at sports days, or other events.
It was 32 years ago that planning started for the first Chichester Half Marathon – and it was to mark the Centenary of the Chichester Observer in 1987.
Race guru Graham Jessop said: “I had always wanted to organise a road race on behalf of Chichester Round Table and the then editor of the Observer, Graham Brooks, wanted an event to commemorate the centenary of the paper, while Phil Baker wanted to put Chichester Runners on the map.
“So the three of us got together one evening and, as they say, the rest is history.
“The event got bigger and better for a further three years but in the end it was probably too successful for the team to cope with and from 1990 until its revival in 2012, sadly there was no half marathon In Chichester.
“I’d always wanted to see the half marathon revived so when the chance came to join the new team I had no hesitation. But these medals are a nice reminder of the original race.” If you want to lay claim to them, email steve. bone@chiobserver.co.uk or call the Observer on 01243 534128.