On the hottest day in July on record, more than 250 youngsters from Warwickshire schools were ‘running free’ in Royal Leamington Spa, as part of a Bridgestone sponsored charity event to promote healthy lifestyles amongst children.
Edmondscote Athletics Stadium in Leamington was packed with pupils of all ages to take part in the Kids Run Free organisation’s second-ever Festival of Running and Kids’ Marathon event. The calorie-busting festivities represented the culmination of a longer-term, school initiative to encourage physical activity over the course of the academic year.
Participants from primary schools have been running during their lunch-breaks, with each little session going towards an overall target to complete the equivalent of a 26 mile marathon. The Edmondscote Athletics Stadium event represented the final leg of the journey, with scores of medals and Bridgestone goodie bags being handed out at the finishing line. The Kids’ Marathon is just one of the initiatives set up by Kids Run Free, which already organises regular running events in parks and green spaces across the UK. The Kids’ Marathon concept fits in within the ethos of 2013’s OFSTED report “Beyond 2012: Outstanding physical education for all”.
Furthermore taking part in Kids Marathon can contribute to OFSTED requirements on the effective use of PE and sport funding, outlined in OFSTED’s report “Inspecting primary school PE and school sport: new funding January 2014”. The charity’s latest move is particularly poignant in light of last week’s ‘Generation Inactive’ report released by ukactive and its chair Tanni Grey-Thompson. The report claims today’s children are the ‘least active generation in history.’
Kids Run Free is the brainchild of former world triathlon and mountain bike competitor Martine Verweij.
Martine said: “This is something we’re really concerned about at Kids Run Free and why we aim to engage children at the youngest age to encourage them to make healthy choices regarding sport and physical activity. We believe that if we can bring children up with the right mind-set, that physical activity can be fun and enjoyable, they will take this into their adult lives.”
The Kids’ Marathon was created as a pilot in 2014 in 10 Primary schools. This academic year the project has grown over the charity’s expectations having 24 schools taking part and the charity is now engaging 30 schools for the 2015/16 academic year starting this September.
Bridgestone’s marketing manager Wim Belckx said: “It was great to see so many youngsters running around the track and showing such enthusiasm for getting fit and having fun. Bridgestone is a proud sponsor of Kids Run Free, which is closely aligned with our sporty brand and we would like to congratulate Martine and the team for all of their hard work.”
What a fabulous project, which I am sure will make a huge difference to the youngsters involved.
Have you heard of the project?