Sussex staff member carries the Olympic torch
Kevin Betts is no stranger to crowds of cheering onlookers – he ran 52 marathons last year, after all.
But last week was a little bit special even for Kevin, who works in Student Recruitment Services at Sussex.
At 5.50pm precisely on 16 July, spectators lined the streets of Hove as Kevin became the latest bearer of the Olympic torch on the 59th day of its journey to the Olympic Games in London.
Wearing a white shell suit and carrying the historic flame for three minutes through West Blatchington, Kevin managed not to trip over or to set fire to himself.
Afterwards, he said that he had “loved every second” of the experience. And he took to Twitter to exclaim, “Wow! There's no buzz like that. Genuinely blown away!”
Kevin was nominated for the relay honour because in 2011 he ran 52 marathons for charity, all in under four hours. He completed marathons in Brighton, New York, Las Vegas and Nottingham - and 27 of them on treadmills. He even ran one on his wedding day.
Kevin was supported throughout his year-long challenge by staff from Sussexsport, which rewarded him for his marathon effort with a year’s free sports membership.
As a souvenir of his latest run, Kevin gets to keep the torch itself: made of aluminium alloy, gold in colour and weighing 800 grams. So he brought it onto campus to show to his envious colleagues.
“What a day,” reflected Kevin. “I'm very privileged and honoured. It meant so much to have so many people watching and supporting.”