Telford teacher's marathon mission on school playing field

Peter Blair, from St George's Primary School, was supported by colleagues and pupils as he covered the whopping 26.5 miles over the school field.

The mammoth challenge was part of the school's year of fundraising for the Severn Hospice.

Mr Blair, who teaches PE to children of all ages at the school on London Road, said they wanted to hold three big events to help raise the money.

"We had a disco in the winter, a Mad Hatter's Tea Party in the spring and now we have done this sponsored run," he said.

Mr Blair has also been doing his own fundraising, by doing the Longmynd Hike and running this year's London Marathon as one of the hospice's golden ticket.

So far the school and Mr Blair have raised over £2,000 for charity.

Mr Blair, 42, said he thought that taking on the marathon at the school would be a way to get the children more involved in his challenge.

He said: "I thought it was a nice idea, there were children coming out every half hour to do little stints of the run, though lots of the older children came out and did extra during break time and lunch time.

"The children really kept me going, from the youngest to the oldest, they all took part, even the ones who might struggle physically.

"For the children, when I came back from London they could see the medal and touch it but I think this helped them appreciate how far it is."

"But it was a very long day."

With a few short breaks, Mr Blair was eventually running around the field from 8.45am to 4.45pm yesterday.

"It has inspired the community to take up running," he said. "A lot of parents have started running with their children and tried the Race For Life or the Telford Park Run."

The school is now planning a visit to the hospice in the future so the children can see the work that they do and how their money has been used.