Shropshire pupils join Blue Peter presenters for Sport Relief challenge - with video and pictures
Pupils at Shropshire schools donned their trainers to take part in a charity running challenge with Blue Peter presenters Radzi Chinyanganya and Lindsey Russell.
Radzi and Lindsey visited five schools in Shropshire to kick-start the first day of their Mile-a-Thon challenge for Sport Relief 2018 – where they will be running 26 individual miles with children from 26 different schools across the country in four days.
As well as completing the miles, Radzi, who used to attend Adams Grammar School in Newport, and Lindsey are hoping to achieve more than one million steps, with the final total being revealed live on Blue Peter’s Sport Relief special on March 22.
The five schools taking part in Shropshire yesterday were Broseley CE Primary School, Much Wenlock Primary School, Barrow 1618 CE Free School, Morville Primary School and Castlefields Primary School.
At Broseley Primary School, 100 pupils aged between eight and 11 joined Radzi and Lindsey for the one-mile run around the school field.
Radzi, who has just returned from presenting in Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics, said: “I used to go to Adams Grammar, so Shropshire and I go way back. It was lovely to be back in Shropshire for this Sport Relief challenge.
“This challenge is not about us, it is about supporting a charity and getting people involved and active. We wanted to be part of Sport Relief because this challenge is all about the steps – so anyone can get involved.
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“I did not like cross country running when I was at school but this is a great challenge to get involved in as it is one mile and you can take it at your own pace and you can do it on a scooter or you can cycle.
“We will be completing 26.2 miles over the four days – a full marathon – visiting a number of schools along the way. We are not trying to get 1,000 steps, we are not trying to get 10,000 – we are aiming for one million steps all together.”
Lindsey added: “The Mile-a-Thon challenge is all for a good cause. It is really achievable. Anyone can take part and do the challenge, whether they are running, walking, swimming, cycling. We wanted to get to as many school as possible to help us achieve this.”
Broseley Primary School headteacher, Sam Aiston, added: “We had 100 children taking part with the Blue Peter presenters for Sport Relief. The children have absolutely loved it.
“It has been really good fun and we are keen to do things like this at the school, as we are hugely into sports.
“The children loved meeting Lindsey and Radzi – they were pleased to see someone off the television.”
At Barrow 1618 Primary School, headteacher John Newton, said the school was thrilled to welcome the presenters.
Mr Newton said: “Despite the snow, we all had a whale of a time running or walking a mile around the school grounds to raise awareness of Sport Relief.
“The children’s faces lit up when they saw the presenters. They had lots of time to speak with them both and they were so warm and friendly with our pupils as they completed the mile with them.”
Radzi and Lindsey were due to be visiting Wolverhampton today.
