On Wednesday 5 October nearly 2,000 children from more than a dozen countries across the globe, from Canada to China, took part in the World Marathon Challenge, organised by Sportshall and Save the Children. Over 50 mixed teams of 31 boys and girls aged 11-13 ran the 26.2 mile marathon in 200 metre stage relays. Each team was aiming to beat the marathon world record time of 2 hrs 3 minutes and 38 seconds, set only last month in Berlin by Kenya’s Patrick Makau. UK events took place in Bedford, Birmingham, Exeter, Liverpool, Huddersfield, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Oxford, Sittingbourne, West Dunbartonshire and the Wirral, with a flagship event at St. Mary’s Twickenham. British children competed against teams from France, Ireland, Spain, Canada, China, Kenya, Mali, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway, with their times shared online in real time to create an exciting global competition. Eight teams from four different countries overhauled Makau’s record time, with the team from Kenya – supported by Patrick Makau himself – top of the table with a remarkable time of 1h51m52s. Response across the world was overwhelmingly positive, with all the local organisers pledging to return next year to make the event bigger and better than ever before. The idea of holding a simultaneous marathon relay as an international virtual competition was the brain-child of George Bunner and has been developed by the Eveque Sportshall Delivery Team over the last four years. George says “It is exciting to have Save the Children involved in the programme as it greatly extends its global reach and complements the excellent work that they are doing.”
The programme was kindly sponsored by the AAA.
Running to save lives The World Marathon Challenge came just two weeks after world leaders met at the UN General Assembly to discuss how to save mothers and children’s lives and address the global gap of 3.5 million health workers – doctors, nurses, midwives and community health workers – in the poorest countries. Justin Forsyth, Chief Executive of Save the Children says “Every child is born with the potential to shine, but right now, across the world, too many children don’t get that chance. Every year almost 8 million children die before their fifth birthday, mostly from illnesses we know how to prevent or treat, such as diarrhoea and pneumonia. When children took part in the World Marathon Challenge they ran with children from Kirklees to Kiambu, from Madrid to Mali – all standing in solidarity with children who face a daily struggle to survive.” Olympic athlete and celebrity endorsement World Marathon Challenge events around the world were supported by local heroes and celebrities: o
In Nderu, Kenya, the young athletes were joined by the new Marathon world record holder Patrick Makau, who led the warm up and spent the morning inspiring the next generation of Kenyan champions.
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At St. Mary’s, Twickenham, GB athletes Andrew Osagie, Charlie Purdue and James Brewer kicked off the event running the opening 195m leg, while fellow international athletes Mike Skinner, Steph Twell and Jo Fenn chatted to and mentored the young athletes. UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner helped present the medals.
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In Exeter, Olympian Jo Pavey ran a few legs with the children and commented: “My little boy Jacob needed a lot of medical attention in his first months, so I realise how lucky we are. It's great to see children from so many parts of the world running in this unique event - raising awareness of children who face a daily struggle to survive".
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In Huddersfield, GB world record wheelchair racer Hannah Cockcroft started proceedings alongside fellow 2012 Paralympic Games hopeful Nick Smith. Hannah commented “I really enjoy events like this because they bring people together around the world and give them a taste of an international competition. It’s lots of fun and good for teamwork”.
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In West Dumbartonshire, Lachie Stewart, (10,000 metres Commonwealth Games Gold Medal winner in 1970) along with other local sporting celebrities started the event and cheered the pupils on.
Several Olympians tweeted messages of good luck, including World Marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe and Olympic bronze medallist and sports presenter Katharine Merry. In total, more than 330,000 people read about the event on Twitter through over 600 tweets.
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A wonderful world of contrasts The race took place in some of the most contrasting terrains imaginable: from the pristine new running track at St. Mary’s and indoor stadia in Manchester, Stavanger and Toronto through to a forest path in Mexico, a run around the tepees in Canada’s First Nations communities and a grassy field marked with a painted white line in Nderu, Kenya. The surface proved no problem for the Kenyan runners, many running in socks or bare feet, as they blew the previous best, 1h59m33s, set by Castellon in Spain in 2010, out of the water. In Tibet, the event took place under azure blue skies at a primary school located at the foothills of the Ganden Monastery, one of the Great Three Buddhist university monasteries of Tibet, at an altitude of 3700m. The event began with a brief intro to the significance of the World Marathon, preceded to thumb-printing actions and leaving signatures in support of the Save the Children campaign. Despite the altitude, the Tibetan team completed the 26.2 mile relay in under 2h8m. In Northern Ontario, Canada, events took place in the First Nation communities of Wabauskang and Sandy Lake to raise awareness about issues facing Aboriginal children living in poverty in Canada. The event coincided with the annual chiefs assembly and the Grand Chief Diane Kelly told the assembled children and assembled media how every child in Canada has a right to safe water, affordable healthy food, access to recreation and fitness opportunities, and access to health care services. Back in Toronto, Milt Ottey three-time Canadian Olympian and two time Commonwealth gold medallist high-jumper supported the young runners in their preparation. In Saverne, France, the French 100km record holder Mikaël Boch came along to encourage the runners after the school’s headmistress and a prominent local politician ran the opening legs. In New Zealand, events took place in three centres in some appalling wet and windy weather. In Wellington, local marathon legend Gabrielle O’Rourke, bronze medallist in the Sydney Marathon two weeks previously, joined the children in battling against freezing 35km southerly winds and rain. In Stavanger, Norway, the runners were treated to a guest appearance from national popstar Kjartan Salvesen, Norwegian Idol winner 2007. In Mexico, 393 children took part in different versions of the Challenge, supporting campaigns to achieve positive changes in quality of life of marginalized Mexican families. The Mexican events included teams of different sizes to give as many children as possible the chance to take part. In Merida, Yucatan (in partnership with the Institute of Sport) the standard number of 31 children raced the full distance, whilst in other venues the times of several teams running shorter distances were aggregated: in Huixtla, for example, 93 children in 3 teams each running a 1/3rd marathon achieved a total time of 2:40:06. Mexican events took place in soaring temperatures in a range of unusual venues – including a forest! In addition to the competitive World Marathon Challenge events in Mexico, many other children took part in non-competitive runs – a total of 2400 boys and girls from north to south. In Mali, where nearly 1 in 5 children die before their fifth birthday, the children ran on a cinder track at the Stade Babemba Traoré in the Sikasso Region, watched by crowds of thousands and propelled forward by the musical backdrop of the army band. The regional governor attended the event and gave a speech on the importance of maternal and child health. Despite temperatures of over 40 C and running in plastic shoes, the Malian youngsters achieved a commendable 33rd place in 2h10m30s.
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RESULTS RANK Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46= 46= 48 49 50 51 52 53
Nderu 1 Uhai (Life) - KEN Castellón - ESP Wirral Yellow - GBR Kirklees Kings Red - GBR Madrid - ESP Manchester Cheshire Yellow - GBR Kent Yellow - GBR Saverne - FRA Patrick Makau ’s World Record Kirklees Knights Yellow - GBR Tullamore Co. Offaly - IRE Birmingham Green - GBR Wirral Red - GBR Liverpool Green - GBR Liverpool White - GBR London Red - GBR Manchester Red - GBR Kent Blue - GBR London Yellow - GBR Exeter Red - GBR Stavanger - NOR Canterbury, Christchurch - NZL Bedfordshire Blue - GBR London Green - GBR Toronto 1 (Law) - CAN Tibet A - CHN Oxfordshire Yellow - GBR Manchester Green - GBR Bedfordshire Red - GBR Birmingham Blue - GBR Alcobendas (Madrid) - ESP Milton Keynes - GBR Sikasso - MLI West Dunbartonshire S2 - GBR Ashburton - NZL Tibet B - CHN Toronto 2 (Gulf) - CAN Kirklees Leeds Blue - GBR Paula Radcliffe’s World Record Torrelodones (Madrid) - ESP Tallaght, South Dublin - IRE Sichuan B - CHN Khandellah, Wellington - NZL Sichuan A - CHN West Dunbartonshire S1 - GBR Exeter Yellow - GBR Oxfordshire Red - GBR Huixtla - MEX Tapachula - MEX Suichiate - MEX Yucatán - MEX Sandy Lake First Nation 1 - CAN Tabasco - MEX Wabauskang First Nation - CAN Mexico City - MEX
H 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
Time M 51 57 57 0 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 11 12 13 15 21 22 23 24 26 26 27 36 40 40 40 56 5 17 27 40
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
S 52 31 59 43 42 9 16 24 38 49 54 54 20 31 35 35 9 23 43 58 25 44 44 13 44 48 24 31 34 38 0 17 30 40 54 12 26 23 25 43 12 57 30 33 57 48 23 06 06 59 56 55 6 15 0
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WHAT PEOPLE SAID… “I am proud to have been involved which such wonderful young people. It has given me such wonderful memories to keep forever. I hope I get asked to organise this again next year” – UK organiser "I want to thank everyone involved. What a fantastic event! I hope we will do this every year. The kids in Stavanger responded with joy, laughter, sweat and cheers they had a wonderful time." – Save the Children Norway "The young people from Kirklees had a great day and having the focus of the work Save the Children do, gave the event even more purpose. What a great event." – UK organiser "Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the event in all the countries. Well done Wanja and the Uhai team from Kenya. Like Patrick Makau you've set a really high standard for us to aspire to in future years. Special thanks to George, Mike, all at the AAA, the Sportshall team and Save the Children for the work in pulling off this event of global solidarity among children. The children held in Tullamore really enjoyed the day and we are looking forward to next year's event." – Ireland organiser The event was brilliant! All the schools loved it and have already asked to be involved next year!! The officials you sent were great, extremely nice people who ran a seamless event. Also we have a few ideas for developing it further in Manchester and incorporate more schools next year…– UK organiser The children had a momentous day with lots of fun and activity. Patrick Makau was the day’s hero, and the children were very happy to have him there. He received lots of hugs! Patrick endorsed the relay by running a warm-up first lap with the girls and a second lap with the boys from the teams. As the organizing team, we had a flawless event and everything had been very well organized on the ground, with the support of the head teachers plus the other teachers. The teachers were very happy that we had chosen Ndeiya location as the venue for the race, and proposed we take the next race to their location again! – Save the Children Kenya Parents, runners and teachers loved the event and would like to take part next year. The Headmistress plans to make it into more of a festival encouraging more parents to attend. We would also like to involve the two other schools in town with the right age groups – France organiser Our pupils had a fantastic time - most of the Sheppey & Sittingbourne Team had not seen a track before, other than on TV! They had been randomly selected by their schools and the opportunity was appreciated ... especially with the t-shirts and medals being provided! - UK organiser “I’ve really enjoyed pushing myself to a new limit. It’s also been good doing this for children around the world that are in pain and suffering.” - Becky Woolterton, 12 from Harefield Academy “It’s a really fun day. I’m really enjoying myself. We’re trying really hard to win.” - Isabella Trujillo-Cortez, 12, from St Angela Ursuline School
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MESSAGE FROM PATRICK MAKAU, WORLD RECORD HOLDER No Child Born to Die Dear friends, with God’s Blessings everything is possible and with every Blessing comes responsibility. Several years ago not many people were interested in me and today I talk to millions via Save the Children, an organization I am proud to be associated with. With the big Blessing of Marathon World record came even bigger responsibility of giving back and sharing and that is why I am sending you these lines today. Every year, 8 million children die before their 5th birthday. As I’ve learned in my own community in Kenya and as we all hear or read almost daily, most of these deaths are caused by illnesses we know how to prevent or treat – illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia. Solutions are simple: We need more medicines, more nurses and midwives and more good food for children facing starvation. World Marathon Challenge gives children a chance to show their solidarity with children who face a daily struggle to survive. It is a small step, hopefully, to be followed by a bigger and stronger one and I am using this opportunity to join pleasant noise of thousands of footsteps and voices, to kindly ask all governments, humanitarian organizations, nongovernmental sector, business and individuals – Please, let’s all together, from tomorrow (if not even from today!) make sure that the truth is preserved, as no child is born to die. Good luck to all the children taking part in the World Marathon Challenge for Save the Children on Oct 5th, trying to beat my Marathon record! In my book, that record is already yours… Yours in running and loving life,
Patrick Makau, Kenya Marathon World record holder 3rd October 2011
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PICTURES
World Marathon Challenge in the Sikasso Region of Mali, in front of a huge crowd. The regional Governor delivered a speech on the importance of maternal and child health
Malian runners ran in plastic shoes in 40C heat
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Patrick Makau, world record holder, leads the warm up in Nderu, Kenya
Many of the Kenyan children ran in bare feet, but their team thrashed all previous records and won by over 6 minutes!
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Children in Sichaun, China ran in support of Save the Children’s campaign for more healthworkers
Children in Wabauskang First Nation, Canada, ran to raise awareness of issues facing Aboriginal children living in poverty [photo credit: Wataway]
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World Marathon Challenge in Mexico City – in the forest!
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In Tibet the event took place in the foothills of the Ganden Monastery, one of the Great Three Buddhist university monasteries of Tibet, at an altitude of 3700m.
World Marathon Challenge in Saverne, France, where the school’s headmistress and a prominent local politician ran the opening legs [photo credit: John Boulter]
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The team from Alcobendas in Madrid ran under perfect blue skies to finish 30th in the world
Champions of Europe! The team from Castellón in Spain, previous record holders, improved on their previous best to clinch second place in the world behind the Kenyans. [Spanish photo credit: deporte digital]
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Great Britain 800m runner Andrew Osagie ran the opening leg for the red team from Newham in Twickenham, London
In Birmingham, UK, the event took place at the famous Alexander Stadium, venue for the IAAF Samsung Diamond League [photo credit: Sportshall]
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In Exeter, UK, an athletic star of the future gave Jo Pavey, three-time British Olympian, a run for her money [photo credit: Sonya Ellis SW Athletics Academy]
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GB world record wheelchair racer Hannah Cockcroft started the race in Huddersfield, UK
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The race in Wellington New Zealand took place in rain and blustery winds [photo credit: Geoff Henry]
Kjartan Salvesen, Norwegian Idol winner 2007, encourages the young athletes in Stavanger
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The yellow team from the Wirral was the top UK team. Here demonstrating a master-class in baton passing, a skill which no doubt contributed to their excellent 1h57m59s time [photo credit: Julie Gibson]
8,625km away in Huixtla, Mexico, children in the same race show an equally determined passing of the baton!
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The Standard, Kenya
Mainland Press, Christchurch, NZ
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Richmond and Twickenham Times, UK
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Glasgow Evening Times
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Huddersfield Examiner, UK
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Wataway News, Canada
All uncredited photographs in this document are copyright Save the Children 2011
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