Shoreham runner takes on three races to fundraise for lifeboat and dog rescue charity

Lynzi Mulford ran the Brighton half marathon at the end of February and will take on the Brighton Marathon and a half marathon for the Three Forts Challenge next month.

The 43-year-old, who lives in Shoreham Beach, is hoping to raise £2,000 for Allsorts Dog Rescue, the charity from she got her dog River, and the Shoreham RNLI.

She said her dog was ‘so special’ and ‘a huge part’ of her life, adding: “My voluntary work as crew for Shoreham lifeboat has also changed my life.”

Lynzi said she had not always been a runner. “I was always last at everything in school,” she said. “I never thought in a million years I would run a marathon.”

Her former job in the entertainment industry involved ‘a lot of late nights’, she said, and she reached a stage when she decided to change her lifestyle.

Lynzi lost five stone and became so interested in fitness that, around nine years ago, she changed career to become a personal trainer.

She said her story helped to inspire her clients. “Hopefully I can empathise with them, because I’ve gone out and done it myself,” she said.

Lynzi ran her first marathon in Brighton six years ago in aid of the air ambulance charity and, despite saying ‘never again’, has gone on to run many more races.

Her training involves running up the River Adur to the Downs with her dog River, a greyhound whippet who she said was ‘built for speed’.

When she took River home four years ago, Lynzi said: “She was very, very skinny, she very was fearful of people and other dogs. Hopefully now she has a nicer home.”

River will be running the Three Forts Half Marathon with Lynzi – but in honour of her pet, Lynzi decided to run the other races in a full, fluffy Scooby Doo costume.

She admits the outfit made running the Brighton Half marathon ‘tough’ and said the bouncing ears and tail was ‘somewhat annoying’.

As well as the dog rescue charity, Lynzi hopes to raise funds for the Shoreham RNLI, which she joined as a volunteer four years ago in order to ‘give back to the community’.

While she was a keen scuba diver, Lynzi had no previous boating experience at all but said she soon learned the ropeds.

She said: “It’s a great charity to be involved in. There’s a lot of comraderie. It’s a great atmosphere.”

Lynzi described the role as ‘varied and random’. “You have to be prepared to drop everything,” she said.

While it has been quiet so far this year, the crew were called out 70 times last year – which adds up to more than once a week.

She said she was proud to be one of just three women in the crew, adding: “It’s nice to show that women can go out and do stuff like that.”

Lynzi will run the Brighton Marathon on Sunday, April 14, and the Three Forts Challenge on Sunday, May 5.

Donate to Lynzi's fundraising page here.

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