Wednesday 24 May saw a whole host of athletes congregating at Westport Lake in Longport to help BBC Presenter John Inverdale raise awareness of this year's Sport Relief campaign. It's all part of Inverdale's nationwide mission to complete a unique marathon: He's visiting 24 different cities across the British Isles, from Glasgow in the North, to Truro in the South, running one mile in each, in just one week. | "This marathon of miles is a fun but challenging way of raising awareness of Sport Relief and I'm delighted to be involved." | | John Inverdale |
The athletes at Staffordshire's Marathon of Miles included BBC presenter John Inverdale, Janine Machin and Paul Stanworth from BBC Radio Stoke, along with dozens of athletes and pupils from the nearby Brownhills Maths and Computing College. Stoke on Trent's Lord Mayor was also on hand, but sadly not to race - he was there to start them off - and it was certainly a memorable occasion for Councillor Maurice Lewis as his last official engagement before retiring from the post. After receiving their starting orders, the group showed their support for Sport Relief, and ran the mile-long lap of Westport Lake. At the heart of the whole Sport Relief campaign is the Sainsbury's Sport Relief Mile, where the entire country, including celebrities, politicians and the general public are urged to do a Mile to raise money to help vulnerable people leading tough lives here in the UK, and in the poorest countries of the world. So far, over £660,000 has been spent in the West Midlands by Sport Relief with more than 128 projects being funded to date. As well as the 15 major Sainsbury's Sport Relief Miles there will be loads of local Miles taking place on Sport Relief Saturday too. These events will be open to the public to ensure that the whole of the UK can Go the Extra Mile for Sport Relief. Local Miles open to the public that are currently confirmed include Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent, and Essington Rugby Club. To find out more about local miles in Staffordshire, log on to www.sportrelief.com | 
