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The London Marathon is back!

On Sunday 23 April, thousands of people will be whizzing past iconic London landmarks as they take part in one of the world's biggest running events.

And students around the UK will be clocking the miles up too as part of the Mini London Marathon challenge, which encourages them to run, walk or wheel one mile between Monday 17 April and Friday 12 May.

We've asked Plamena, who recently ran 2.6 miles with her school, to tell us all about her experience.

I am fortunate to attend a school that provides a vast variety of physical activities for us to participate in, one of the many being the Mini London Marathon. It was empowering to be part of something inspired by an event that shows the world that, on occasions, humanity can be united, and which inspires more people to take part in sports.

'I felt happier and more alert heading into my GCSEs'

The roller coaster of emotions during the 2.6 miles was an experience I loved sharing with my friends, and I was grateful to have the opportunity to participate. The activity itself was a challenge; however, finding the will to keep going was the biggest battle. The fact that I got to do it with my friends was one of the reasons I managed to complete it. The feeling we got when we passed the finish line and saw the cheerful expressions on our teachers' faces was amazing!

Since starting secondary school I have been provided with many opportunities to stay active, and taking part in this event has led me to develop a passion for running. Since this, I have noticed an improvement in my overall fitness and felt happier and more alert heading into my GCSE exam years.

'Our teachers joined us to encourage us'

Something else that has motivated me to be physically active is the friendly competition that students and teachers create for each other. When we completed the modified version of the iconic London Marathon, our teachers from across the school joined us on the run to encourage us further. The event was also supported by Year 10 Sports Captains at the time and, thanks to this, I am now a Sports Captain for my year group and look to inspire others to take up new opportunities just like I did.

We have many PE teachers that take their job very seriously and constantly encourage us all to participate in sports whilst being inclusive of everyone. For the mini marathon event, we had a shorter course set up to allow those who may have struggled to take part, which led to over 60 of my year group attending the event.

'We didn't believe we'd finish - but we did!'

I'd first heard about the event when my Head of PE asked us to take part in it. I wasn't very sure since I knew it wasn't going to be easy; however, after some encouragement from him, me and my friends decided to give it a go. During the marathon we experienced a few difficulties, some physical, some mental, and we didn't believe that we would be able to finish but we did and I have a shiny gold medal to prove it! Our Head of PE deeply influenced me to develop a healthy relationship with exercise and to be determined to break down barriers.

It was a great experience for us and one which we would love to do every year!

This article was published in March 2023