Tony in the running to celebrate four decades of taking part in Berkhamsted Half Marathon

Entrants for the Berkhamsted Half Marathon will include a man who is running to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the race – four decades after taking part in the inaugural event.

Tony Marsh, then aged 21, ran in the inaugural Berkhamsted Half Marathon 40 years ago in 1983. Although not a local resident at the time, his friend’s sister-in-law was an organiser so he signed up for the run.

Years later, Tony moved to Berkhamsted, and in 2012, on the 30th anniversary of the event, felt compelled to run again and raise funds to support the Rotary Club and local charities. Eight years later, in 2020, he took to the streets again, in memory of his Club 480 colleague Paul Adam who sadly died of cancer that year.

Now, four decades since running the first Berkhamsted Half Marathon, Tony knew he had no option but to run again in 2023 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the race. This year, Tony has decided to raise money for DENS, a local charity close to his heart, which supports people facing homelessness and poverty.

Tony said: “If you had told the 21-year old me that I would be running the Berkhamsted half marathon at the ripe old age of 62, I would not have believed you. To be honest, I’m still not sure I believe it, but given the demand for DENS’ services is sadly continuing to increase, I felt that I should at least do a little to help. I am pretty confident I won’t be running the 50th anniversary.”

Fran Martin, Head of Fundraising at DENS, said: “I am amazed at Tony’s half marathon journey spanning four decades. Tony has supported DENS for a number of years and it’s wonderful that he is raising sponsorship for us at the Berkhamsted Half. DENS has seen an increase of 54% of people requiring food parcels at our Foodbank, and Tony’s fundraising will go a long way to help us meet the demand we are facing. We wish Tony, and all the other runners, a great day!”

The event takes place on March 5; you can support Tony and DENS by sponsoring him on his fundraising page here.