Paralympian visits school for mini marathon

Paralympian David Weir has visited a Sussex primary school to take part in a mini marathon with its pupils, ahead of the London Marathon next month.

Children across the UK take part in a two-mile run, jog, walk or wheel around their school as part of the Mini London Marathon in schools (MLMis).

St Paul's Academy in St Leonards hosted the six-time gold medallist, where he spoke about his career and the importance of staying active.

"The message is to really get kids into sport to keep healthy, physically and mentally," he said.

"Sport is a tool for your mental health. You've got to really make it fun so kids can get into activities and make them feel good about themselves and their mental wellbeing."

He added: "The London Mini Marathon's been going on for decades. It's where I started my career."

More than one million kids have taken part in the MLMis since it began in 2020, and there are currently more than 400,000 children signed up across England this year.

Frances White, London Marathon Events children and young people lead, said MLMis was started to "inspire activity".

"We wanted all children across the country to take part," White said.

The MLMis comes before the London Mini Marathon, which takes place on 25 April, the day before the London Marathon.

Josh Barrett, Year 3 teacher and PE lead at St Paul's Academy, said it was "massively important" for the children to be inspired by Weir.

"It gives them skills like perseverance to go on after they leave St Paul's and build those foundations for after primary school," Barrett said.

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