Glide is pleased to be supporting Teenage Cancer Trust and its team taking part in the Brighton Marathon 2012.

If you fancy taking on an exciting challenge in 2012 then what are you waiting for? Sign up and get involved!! The marathon takes place on Sunday 15 April 2012 and the scenic route takes in the countryside, the city and the cool sea breeze. Why not join up, and do your bit to help young people fight cancer?

Glide will be giving away three pairs of trainers worth £100 each to three randomly selected Glide customers who sign up to the marathon through Teenage Cancer Trust. Terms and conditions apply.

Why run for Teenage Cancer Trust?

Teenagers shouldn't stop being teenagers because they have cancer. You can imagine how damaging it is to take a young person away from their everyday life, their friends, their environment, their family - and put them in a cancer ward with small children or older people.

Teenage Cancer Trust builds and maintains units in NHS hospitals where young people with cancer can get specialist care, and be with other young people their own age so they can support one another. Teenage Cancer Trust also provides a wide range of other services to improve their lives - you can read more about the amazing services they offer on their website.

"The thought of having to face my battle with cancer alone, without my friends around me, really scared me... the Teenage Cancer Trust unit made such a difference to me; without it I would have been lost. Just knowing that there was a room full of people my age who had been through cancer put a great deal of hope back into my life." Fiona, 17

The Teenage Cancer Trust challenges team is on hand to support you throughout your marathon journey with training and fundraising advice, a team running vest and goodies, enthusiastic cheering squads and invitations to events leading up to the day and over the marathon weekend itself - Teenage Cancer Trust will be with you all the way!

Click here for more information on what you can expect if you decide to take on the challenge and run for Teenage Cancer Trust!

Why not encourage your family, friends and colleagues to get involved too? For those who aren't up for running, Teenage Cancer Trust is also recruiting volunteers to cheer the team on, and make the day extra special.

With our support, Teenage Cancer Trust can continue to help thousands of young people affected by cancer.

The winning team

Glide launched a marketing competition exclusively for the University of Birmingham's MBA (Masters of Business Administration) students.

On Thursday 22 September a team of Glide representatives headed to the university to deliver a presentation about the company and its services before challenging the students to create a full marketing proposal for the business.

A team from Glide reviewed all of the marketing proposals submitted and the authors of the best proposal received a £500 prize.

The competition is part of Glide's ongoing relationship with the University of Birmingham, where co-founders James Villarreal and Sandeep Krishan were both students when they established the business.

The winning team proposed a combination of gamification technology to interact with students, partnerships with pubs and clubs to get brand exposure, an on-campus campaign using a Glide Surfboard and a Glide iPhone and Android application.

The winning team really got to grips with Glide's energetic image and were really forward thinking. They designed a scaleable proposal whilst sticking to their budget. They had thought about how to increase Glide's profile within the community and also how to increase brand awareness through social media.

Glide are proud to have sponsored the entrepreneurial category of coveted Birmingham Young Professional of the Year 2011 awards (BYPY). Glide actively promotes its endeavour to encourage other young entrepreneurs in the local region. Our CEO, James Villarreal sat on the judging panel to choose this year's winners.

Quantity surveyor, Hillary Allen, won the overall award and has been crowned Birmingham Young Professional of the Year 2011.

In Glide's entrepreneurial category, Nicholas Holzherr, managing director of Qrky won the award.

Glide are sponsoring the largest student music festival in the UK. It's called Summer Party and it's in Nottingham. You can find our more about it at www.summerparty.org.uk

We've got Chase and Status, Example, Feeder, Scratch Perverts and more playing. See the full line up here.

We'll be running competitions and giving away lots of freebies on the day! Everybody's welcome so please come and play some games with us on our stand.

Book your tickets here.

Lee Kemp, Colin White and James Villarreal after Tough Guy

Three hardy Birmingham entrepreneurs have successfully completed the gruelling Tough Guy assault course, raising thousands of pounds for Birmingham Children’s Hospital's Children's Heart Appeal.

Lee Kemp, 35, of Birmingham film production company Fullrange, Colin White, 37, of Ortus and James Villarreal, 25, founder of Glide Utilities, risked life and limb to take on the extreme challenge, which has seen contestants sustain serious injuries in previous years.

They faced a 12km run before tackling underwater, burning and barbed wire obstacles, all while enduring near freezing temperatures. The challenge took place in Perton near Wolverhampton, with more than 5,000 men and women competing to make it to the finish.

The trio raised more than £3,000, which will go to Birmingham Children's Hospital's Children's Heart Appeal, as well as Tough Guy's chosen charities, which include Horse Sanctuary and Kids off the Streets.