Marathon helps thousands of schoolchildren get moving

10 Mar 2020 11:07
Published by: Daniel Almond

SCHOOLCHILDREN around Horwich and Bolton will be the first people to take part in the town's resurrected marathon, 33 years after it was last run.

Sixty primary schools and one special school across the borough have pledged to get active with the help of Bolton Marathon organisers in an exciting challenge.
The youngsters are being challenged to take part in 15 minutes of activity a day.

This will be followed by lessons about each stage of the route so pupils can themselves 'run the marathon'.
The race returns on Sunday May 17 and its Director Richard Smith said he was always keen to use the opportunity to help to encourage young people to become more active.

He said: "We want to give back to the community and it made sense for us to start with schools.
"It is great that so many children will be active and learn about the Bolton Marathon at the same time."
The challenge will run over 42 days, marking each of the 42km of the marathon race.

Bolton Marathon Primary School Challenge packs have been sent to schools with a map of the different stages,
Richard said: "We are asking them to do 15 minutes of activity every day. It could be anything - throwing beanbags for little ones, or for the older ones actually running around a football field. In total, 18,500 children have signed up to take part which is brilliant.

"We would eventually like all 30,000 children in Bolton to be more active in the future so we still have a way to go, but this is a great start."
Children from Bolton St Catherine's Academy, are some of the youngsters who have signed up to the challenge.

With the encouragement of Deputy Headteacher Christopher Hill, the Year Six pupils are running a mile, three times a week in their lunch breaks in a loop around their school.

You may be interested in