PRIMARY school children in Leeds participated in a milestone event organised by the running initiative GO Run For Fun on Thursday 28 June 2018, which saw its 250,000th runner since launching in 2013.
The event, which works in partnership with the Great Run Series, took place at Cardinal Heenan High School, and 1,700 children aged between five and 10 from 25 local schools took part.
Olympic competitor and member of the reigning world record holding European sprint team, Jessica Varnish, welcomed the participants ahead of the 2 kilometre fun run.
Peter McQuillen-Strong, Headteacher at Holy Family Catholic Primary School who helped to organise the event, said: “Primary schools in Leeds are delighted to partner with Go Run For Fun again in 2018, to give pupils from all corners of Leeds the chance to run in a mass participation event. We know pupils are inspired by joining the thousands of other pupils to enjoy a challenging run.
“From experience we know that enabling children to participate together in a mass fun event can raise a passion and determination to get out and run again, and it’s a wonderful chance for children in the area, who may never enter a competitive event, to develop a healthy mindset and enjoy taking part in future activities.”
GO Run For Fun also delivered a Health & Wellbeing programme on Wednesday 27June to educate children from Holy Family Catholic Primary School about the importance of diet and regular exercise.
The GO Run For Fun series has seen in excess of 250,000 runners taking part since its launch, and aims to get 270,000 children running by the end of 2018.
The programme is supported by INEOS, a multinational company headquartered in London, with health and fitness at the heart of its ethos.
INEOS Chairman, Jim Ratcliffe, is deeply passionate about running. He said: “It has never been more important to support young people in leading healthier, more active lives.
“GO Run for Fun and The Daily Mile have been making a positive impact on the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of children in the UK and beyond for the last four years. We are very proud to support these two initiatives and everyone who runs in them.”
GO Run For Fun organises free running events across the world to inspire children to be more active. To find out more about GO Run For Fun, visit www.thedailymileevents.com or stay up to date on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITOR:
The GO Run For Fun campaign is delivered by the GO Run For Fun Foundation in partnership with Nova International, organisers of the Great Run series. Find out more about Great Runs here.
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