Mead Road Marathon

 

The day dawned cool but clear – perfect conditions for the Mead Road Marathon.  The children of Mead Road School, having spent the past few weeks in training, were anxious but excited and looking forward to the task ahead. 

 

The marshals were out in force, preparing the course and Dotty the Demelza mascot had limbered up ready to spread encouragement across the school field. In the distance the first group of runners could be seen, clutching water bottles, heads bowed deep in concentration, walking from their reception class room – first to go were the Robins.  

 

Harriett, Amos Personal Training, led the warm up with star jumps, running on the spot, stretches and that famous Marathon classic ‘head, shoulders, knees and toes’.  The Robins were raring to go.  They lined up at the start line and 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 they were off.  With the top age of 5 the Robins were pacing themselves nicely at the start and managed to stay at a fairly consistent speed. They had 1 hour to run as many laps of the school field that their legs would carry them.   The level of determination was staggering, very few dropped out until about lap 10, over half the class managed to keep going for a full hour.

 

Results: 261 laps = 32.5 miles!

 

Next out on track came Year 1 – Owls.  Energy levels were high and and the level of nervous chatter showed that adrenaline was flowing.  Another warm up with Harriet, and the Owls were ready to go (although they decided to run the opposite way around the field – maybe something to do with air flow?!).  The Owls started off much quicker and the marshals were worried they would peak too soon – but no, the Owls did not stop, they had trained hard and were determined to put every ounce of energy into their run.  They encouraged each other and pushed through the pain.

 

Results: 571 Laps = 71 miles!

 

The final runners were Year 2 – Toucans, unfortunately for them the sun was high in the sky and temperatures had changed.  These guys were older, longer legged and serious about getting through the challenged that faced them.  They did not stop as the sweat even made their name badges drop off their tee-shirts.  The Marshals cheered them on, clapping, shouting and even banging the odd tambourine.  They helped each other over the finish line and one Toucan said he didn’t want to stop after an hour.

 

Results: 475 laps + 59 miles!

 

A grand total of 162 miles – (Lille is 165 miles away and Birmingham is 153 miles!)  Mead Road Runners have stamina!

 

The children were awarded their medals by Adrian Lawrence of Hunters after the great event – a fabulous keepsake for such a great achievement.

 

This amazing feat by the Mead Road Children could not have been possible without the fantastic local support of our community.  First and foremost – Thank you to Adrian Lawrence and his team at Hunters, who sponsored the event and made this possible for the children.  

 

Thank you also to Munchkin Sports, Fitness In, Air Jump and Chislehurst Lawn Tennis Club – all of whom donated prizes, the school is extremely grateful.  

 

The children now have the ‘marathon’ task of collecting their sponsorship money from friends and family – the money raised is to be split between Mead Road School (who are raising money for new playground equipment) and Demelza Hospice Care for Children – supporting children living with terminal conditions in the local area.