The man who ran a half-marathon with a fridge on his back

Watch Andy Dickenson's report on the Brighton half, one of the first major races of the season.

Thousands pounded the pavements of Brighton today, in pursuit of personal bests and raising thousands of pounds for charity.

Among them, Corporal Sam Hammond, AKA Man Vs. Fridge who ran the race in aid of SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity, carrying a fridge on his back, attempting to bag a Guinness World Record.

He succeeded too, despite the 26kg of weight he was carrying. "It's not the most comfortable, compared to a backpack, and as you can hear it rattles a lot," he said, before setting out on the 13.1 mile course.

The route took runners past the stunning seafront cliff tops of east Brighton, the Royal Pavilion, The Hilton Brighton Metropole Hotel, the i360, the colourful beach huts of Hove seafront and the iconic Brighton Palace Pier.

The field featured hundreds of runners new to the half marathon distance, experienced half marathoners and elite runners, with thousands of spectators lining the route to cheer on the runners.

In the wheelchair race Gary Cooper took first place in the men's race with a time of 1 hour 5 minutes and 30 seconds, with the women's race being won by Ellie Page who finished in 1 hour 25 minutes and 56 seconds.  

In the men’s race, Leeds University student Cal Mills, took first place with a time of 1 hour, 6 minutes and 37 seconds; second place went to Marshall Smith who came home in 1 hour 6 minutes and 41 seconds.

The women’s race was won again by last year’s winner Charlotte Ragan, who finished in 1 hour, 18 minutes and 24 seconds, followed by Ruby Whyte-Wilding in 1 hour 18 minutes and 30 seconds.

Also running for charity was Anthony Seddon from Portslade, running for Run2Ukraine. Anthony met his wife Anna in Ukraine when watching England play football there and has pledged to run the equivalent distance from the Amex Stadium in Brighton to the Dnipro Arena in Ukraine to raise money for medical aid.

The Brighton Half Marathon is organised by the Sussex Beacon, a Brighton-based charity which provides a range of services for men, women and families living with or affected by HIV across Sussex.