A Kent man crossed the finish line during the inaugural Brighton Marathon yesterday and successfully completed the third leg of his challenge to complete a string of marathons and one of the world’s toughest half marathons for charity. Antony Masters, who is raising funds and awareness for the Kent Air Ambulance, finished the Sussex city's marathon, 26.2 miles, on Sunday 18th April 2010) in 4 hours 40 minutes.
 
Antony, who is a PR and Marketing Executive for BMI Somerfield Hospital in Maidstone, The Chaucer Hospital in Canterbury, Fawkham Manor Hospital in Dartford, Chelsfield Park Hospital in Orpington and The Sloane in Beckenham joined over 7,500 others when the marathon got underway just after 9am (BST) at Preston Park in Brighton. The runners then made their way through the seaside resort, past some of Brihton's world famous landmarks like the Brighton Pier and Pavillion. The route also took in Rottingdean, Hove and around Shorham Docks before it finished at the seafront beside the pier
 
The 36 year old has now completed three (New York – November 2009, Barcelona - March 2010 and Brighton - April 2010) of the four marathons and a half marathon. Antony is now looking forward to a rest, but will still be running throughout the summer as he prepares for one of the world’s toughest half marathons – The Great North Run in Newcastle on September 19th, he'll then have just seven days after that before he heads to Germany for the Berlin Marathon.
 
Despite finishing in a comfortable time in Brighton, Antony says he not only hit 'The Wall' a mental barrier that can cause runners to quit, he also suffered muscular problems with his left hip.
 
Antony Masters said: “Between miles 22 and 24 I had to walk because of the discomfort, but I'm a pretty determined fellow, I wanted to finish and collect my medal. I paced myself by running and then walking on and off for the last two miles. The crowds in Brighton were fantastic and thier cheers of encouragement spurred me on to run as fast as I could for the last 800 metres and I was chuffed and relieved to get over the line. The Air Ambulance team were there throughout the route cheering and that was fabulous support. I'm now looking forward to a rest but then it's back to training for September.”
 
County Fundraiser for Kent Air Ambulance Trust, Lynn Hyder, said: “It was fantastic to see Ant come over the finish line and collect his third medal of the challenge. Despite his hip problems he did a grerat job to improve on his time by two minutes from Barcelona. We're really chuffed for him. It was such a fantastic day and we had lots of runners supporting the air ambulance, so it was extra special. We wish him all the best for September's tough challenge of two runs in 8 days."
 
Antony has a justgiving profile to help raise as much money as possible – please help Antony with as much as you can. www.justgiving.com/antonymasterskent