North Ealing School Staff Get Fit and Raise Thousands

Team took part in last year's Ealing Half Marathon to help primary

Parents, teachers and governors raised £12,500 for North Ealing Primary School through their involvemnet in last years Ealing Half Marathon.

The event on 25th September saw a team of over 30 lace up their running shoes to raise much-needed funds, and their efforts have more than exceeded expectations.

Natasha Brown, who helped to coordinate the initiative, said:,

“The North Ealing School Parents & Teacher Association (PTA) started the project to try to raise a bit of money for the school, but mainly to have fun while getting fit. The Ealing Half Marathon team helped us get the project off the ground with training sessions and training advice initially, and later helped the team by providing local running club, route and nutrition information.

“It’s great that we have a community event like the Ealing Half Marathon on our doorstep. We never expected to raise so much money! Most of it went towards funding a new suite of ICT equipment for the benefit of all the children across the school, but there was money left over too. Everyone who took part had a wonderful day, and I’d definitely recommend giving it a go!”

The Ealing Half Marathon has been voted the UK’s best half marathon at The Running Awards for the last three years, and has once again reached the shortlist for The 2017 Running Awards. A firm fixture in the running calendar, it is well known for its huge community support and lively atmosphere, each year attracting athletes from near and far wanting to soak up the #EalingFeeling. The 2017 race will be the sixth Ealing Half Marathon and is expected to be the biggest and best race yet.

2016 Race Director Kelvin Walker commented, “We were delighted to be able to help with the set-up of this great initiative at North Ealing School. By offering specialist training advice and coordinating group sessions, we were able to create a real team atmosphere with everyone willing each other on. We visited the school to discuss their wishes and together helped to assist parents, governors and teachers to get fitter, whilst raising valuable funds for the school.

“This inclusive approach is something we would love to assist rolling out elsewhere in the Borough – we have already been contacted by several local schools regarding the 2017 event, which is great to see. Our community work – which makes us unique amongst mass participation events, which tend to be dominated by commercial organisations – is something we are very proud of and very much look forward to continuing.”

North Ealing Primary School Head Mrs Flowers added, “I was delighted to play my part in raising school funds whilst getting fitter. The whole day was a fantastic experience and it was great to see the school come together both before and on the day. This forms part of our plan to increase activity levels amongst our pupils and it was brilliant to see so many of them cheering us on! With the development of the daily mile at school, combined with other recent initiatives, it does help to show what can be achieved at a school.”

Entries for the 2017 Ealing Half Marathon are now open, and any schools interested in entering a team should email the event organisers at info@ealinghalfmarathon.com for further details.

Go to www.ealinghalfmarathon.com to sign up to the 2017 race.
The Facebook page www.facebook.com/ealinghalf and follow @EalingHalf #EalingFeeling on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news about the Ealing Half Marathon.

15th February 2017