Man Versus Car Challenge For London To Brighton Veteran Car Run

LONDON – Sept 11, 2012: Ultramarathon runner, Duncan Philips, is to take part in a friendly challenge with veteran car driver, Dan Suskin, to see who gets to the coast first during the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, on Sunday 4 November. The annual event is hosted by the Royal Automobile Club and is the world's longest running motoring event.

Dan Suskin, from the USA, has been an enthusiast of the event since childhood and first took part in 2010. This year he will drive his 1902 Delahaye, which has an engine of just six horsepower. Vehicles taking part in the event, which are all built before 1905, must average no more than 20mph for the 60 miles from London to Brighton. Suskin is a real fan of the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run. He says: "My plan had always been to do just the one run in 2010, as I had already flown the oldest air race in world – the Coupe Aeronautique Gordon Bennett – and now I had driven the oldest car event in the world. But we so thoroughly enjoyed the event that we decided we would go back every year.

"I'm really looking forward to the challenge that Duncan has agreed to. As a marathon runner myself, I know well the challenge that long distance running presents, but cannot even imagine the extremes to which Duncan will need to go on the way down to Brighton. I believe he might fare better than I will on the uphills, but I should pass him again on the downhills!"

Duncan Philips from Tunbridge Wells, Kent competes in Ironman (swim, ride, run) competitions and last September attempted the Enduroman Arch to Arc Triathlon, which started in Marble Arch, London, and finished at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Having successfully run the 87 miles from London to Dover, he then began swimming the English Channel to Calais. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury four miles from the French coast forced him to retire. Duncan, who is aged 48, says: "Although I’ve been running for several years I only had the idea to run against Dan's car just recently. We have a friendly wager on who will win and the loser must buy the ice creams in Brighton!"

One hundred and sixteen years since it was first run, this year's London to Brighton Veteran Car Run will feature a maximum entry of 550 pre-1905 vehicles making their way from Hyde Park in London to Madeira Drive, Brighton. The event is part of a weekend Celebration of Motoring that includes the RAC Future Car Challenge (for low energy use vehicles) and the Regent Street Motor Show (celebrating the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries of motoring).