This week we look at an Athletics romance, probably the most successful married couple in the history of Sussex athletics and one is still Sussex record holder after more than thirty years.
Suzanne Barberis and Simon Morley met on the coach travelling to the English Schools championships to Durham in 1975 they shared Suzanne’s step mother’s goodly supply of digestive biscuits and cream cheeses and the die was set. They were engaged two years later on the anniversary of the English Schools weekend and married in 1979. Thus started what is probably the most successful Mr and Mrs combination in Sussex athletics although the Haywards Heath/Crawley pairing of David and Debbie Peel could stake a strong claim, while back in the late forties/fifties Sussex Walking Club’s George Brooks won County half-mile title before and after the War, while wife Elsie won Walk titles in the fifties and almost pioneered Lady’s race walking in Sussex with a couple of titles.
When they met, Simon was an established Brighton & Hove A.C and Sussex athlete being born on 11th September 1957 to Richard and Jean Morley who were both educationalists, Jean as Headmistress of Ditchling Primary School and Richard as Headmaster of the new Longhill Comprehensive Senior School in Brighton. Dick was a great supporter of Brighton, Hove and Portslade Schools and the Sussex Schools Athletics Association as Treasurer, Chairman and Cross-country organiser.
Simon attended Brighton, Hove and Sussex Grammar School for boys and had won county and Sussex Schools titles before 1975, as well as the Sussex Schools JB (U15) cross country title in 1972.
From 1973-1975 he won Sussex Schools 800m titles as he progressed through the age groups and represented Sussex Schools in the English Schools Cross Country Championships from 1972-1975 and also went to the English Schools Track and Field Championships over 800m from 1972-1975 making the final each time but never getting a medal until he hit the jackpot.
1975 however, was special when obviously encouraged by digestive biscuits and cream cheese, Simon came surging d
own the 
home straight and fought his way through a group of athletes, to win the Senior boys 800m in 1:53.3s. He was the only Sussex winner that year and is still the only U19 Sussex winner of the 800m title.
Suzanne was born, exactly one month after Simon on 11th October 1957 – to Rex and Margaret Barberis in Cricklewood, but her mother died before Suzanne actually started racing. Her father remarried Monika in 1972, and Suzanne started running when she went to a Comprehensive School at Epping. She became the first pupil from her school to represent Essex at the England Schools championships. She finished fourth in the Intermediate Girls 800m in 1973 as well as winning the Essex IG 400m title in 1974 and 1975 when Simon won his Gold medal. She was involved in a similar finish in the Senior girls 800m where she had a blanket finish but was squeezed out of the medals finishing sixth in 2:09.3s.
Her father was Managing Director of The Excess Insurance group, with Headquarters at Worthing and when they moved to Sussex, and he eventually took charge of Harford, the parent company’s European Operation, she attended Worthing VIth form College and then made quite an impact on Sussex athletics scene running for Sussex Schools in her first year and winning gold medals as soon as she was eligible to compete for her new county.
Suzanne eventually went on to win some 41 Sussex gold medals from 400m to Cross Country and 20-miles including relays and teams between 1976 and when she was forced to retire earlier this century with knee problems.
This was a remarkable tally for this was a particularly rich time for Sussex middle distance women runners with the likes of Crawley’s Regina and Monica Joyce and Debbie Peel, Brighton and Hove club mate Sonia Vinall and Penny Forse who were all Olympians or British Internationals. In the eighties, Suzanne was also a reserve for the British World Cross-country championship team.
In 1982 she regained the Southern 800m title that she had won first in 1978, and she collected several Sussex titles and after taking second place in the Sussex cross country championship in December led the Sussex team to their best-ever second placing in the Southern Inter-county champi
onships in January 1983.
Later in the year, she gained a silver medal in the Southern 1500 metres before earning her first international vest against Finland, finishing fourth in the 800m in 2:05.4s. At the end of the year, Suzanne won her first Sussex senior Cross-country title and led her Brighton & Hove team to victory.
In 1984 she took the silver medal in the Southern 800m in a Sussex record time of 2:04.0s and in, what is one of her best runs, she finished third in the BAAB 1500m championship at Cwmbran behind Olympic athletes Zola Budd and Lynne McDougall in 4:13.8s which earnt her another international vest against France at Le Touquet and also a run for England, also over 1500m, against Italy at Balzano.
In August at the Crystal Palace Suzanne broke National and the Commonwealth One mile records with 4:29.15s, one second inside the Record but her name never appeared on those record books as she was beaten by Olympian Wendy Sly in 4:28.18
To underline her versatility she won the “Marina 10k road race in a course record time of 35:08s in November.
There was another 1500m trip for England in Bucharest followed by a trip to Birmingham for G.B. against Russia in 1985. This, however, was topped by a brilliant bronze medal in the A.A.A championship over 800m, where she set her fastest ever time of 2:02.19s and the following year she again faced the Russians but this time indoors at Cosford and over 3000m.
1986 was the year when she hit the big time and gained selection for the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games where six Sussex athletes made the team. Like most of her international races, it was over 1500m. “I got to the final of the Commonwealth Games but during the build-up, it wa
s touch and go whether I would make it at all as I had, what they thought was, a stress fracture on my left foot so I had missed a lot of training.
"I finished tenth in 4:27.98.6s which was rather disappointing for this most important race. It was operated on later that year but I was determined to keep running”.
After recovery Suzanne continued to race, winning more Sussex titles and medals even when she moved into the W35 masters group. She won the Southern 3000m title in 1992 which led to a representative run in France race.
For another decade, she competed in track league, cross country and road races, winning more Sussex gold medals, before knee problems and a double replacement put paid to her running days.
However, in 1996 at the age of 48, she anchored the Brighton & Hove trio of Julia Gates, Julie Drake and Sue to second-team spot in the National Marathon team championships at London just missing the three-hour mark.
Suzanne said: “One of my very favourite performances was in 1992 when I think I was fourth in the Great South 10-mile run in a massive Pb of 57:15. It was my first run as a Master (35) and I felt absolutely fantastic.”
Suzanne worked at Amex in Brighton until her daughters Hannah and Naomi were born in 1987 and 1990 while Simon joined the police and although this severely affected his athletics progress, he won many medals in National Police competitions and ran in several European Police championships.
Simon finished second in the National Police Championships on six successive occasions between 1984-1989 and ran in four European Police Cross-country championships 1983 in London 1988 Zurich, 1992 Guildford and 1996 Denmark.
On the track, the highlights were a 1500m gold medal in 1986 in the National police championships 3:54.5s at Gateshead and earnt him a trip to Spain for the European Police Championships, where he finished an excellent third in Avila, Spain. In 1997 he won the Police 10-mile road championship, just one day before his 40th birthday. He progressed, in the force, to be a superintendent inspector.
Whenever he could, Simon raced in club and county events and he won the Sussex 20-mile road running championship at Worthing in 1994.
Suzanne’s Personal bests:
400m 55.9 (Brighton) 1984
800m 2:02.79 (Birmingham) 1985
1500m 4.11.0 (Birmingham) 1985
Mile 4:29.15 (Crystal Palace) 1984
3000m 8:56.39 (Oslo) 1985
10K 34.? (Totton 10K?)
Marathon 3:01.25 London 1996.
Simon’s Personal bests:
400m 51.0 (Sussex Champs 1975)
800m 1:51.0 (Southern Counties Final at Crystal Palace 1975)
1500m 3:47.9 (Open Race Crawley 1986)
10k Road 30:27 Battersea Park Open 1986
Half Marathon 67:04 Elmbridge 1994
Marathon 2:32 Haringey 1994