School children are being invited to support the Coventry Half Marathon and Plas Dol-y-Moch by running one mile of the main event circuit on Sunday 19 March.

The ‘Dol-y-Moch Mile’ provides groups of school children, from ages 4-11 of all abilities, a great chance to play their part in the Coventry Half Marathon event and also raise money for the much-loved outdoor education centre in Wales.

Each child taking part will receive a certificate, t-shirt, a goody bag with sporting offers for the family and a commemorative Plas Dol-y-Moch pin badge.

Councillor Kevin Maton, Cabinet Member for Education, said:

We hope lots of schools join in with this year’s Coventry Half Marathon by entering groups to run the mile circuit and raise money for improvement works at Plas Dol-y-Moch, from which many children across the city will benefit.

We aim to be even more inclusive this year by inviting schools to do other activities in addition to running the Dol-y-Moch Mile and schools can find more information on the Coventry Half Marathon website and through the information pack we are sending them.

Schools can also opt to do 12 further activities, including cycling, swimming or walking, to make up their own ‘half marathon’ of events which will encourage children and their parents to keep fit and active and lead healthy lifestyles which are all part of the city’s sports strategy.

By combining the schools’ event with raising funds for Dol-y-Moch’s 50th anniversary, participants will not only have a great, enjoyable event on a big race event day, but help make a contribution to keep developing the centre as an excellent facility for Coventry children.

Alistair Cook, the Council’s Outdoor Education Service Manager based at Plas Dol-y-Moch said:

We are thrilled that Coventry City Council and Coventry Sports Foundation are supporting the Friends of Plas Dol-y-Moch 50th Anniversary Appeal at this year’s Coventry Half Marathon. The money raised by children through doing the Dol-y-Moch Mile will help create better facilities at the centre for more Coventry children to take part in our adventurous courses.

The cost of entering the Dol-y-Moch Mile is £6 per child, with all profits going to the Friends of Plas Dol-y-Moch charity. Details can be found at www.coventryhalf.com/dolymochmile.

Coventry Sports Foundation are also backing the event and are actively encouraging children to play their part in keeping fit and active too, as Wendy Jackson, Community Development Manager for Coventry Sports Foundation added:

We are excited to be involved with The Dol-y-Moch Mile as it's a fantastic opportunity to raise funds for Dol-y-Moch and at the same time bring schools together to inspire children and families in sport. This is the first of 13 challenges we are encouraging local schools to be involved with and we look forward to seeing what other activities children and families get involved with after the March event.

The event forms part of the 2017 Coventry Half Marathon event and is organised by Coventry City Council and supported by Coventry Sports Foundation.

Front row - Matthew Crawford and Abbigail Hawthorne from Sacred Heart School, Sadiyah Rahman and Kamrul Ali from Edgewick School and Joshua Fasipe and Selam Kebede, and from Southfields School.

Back row – Sarah Atkins (Friends of Dol-y-Moch); Elise Liggins (Sacred Heart School); Cllr David Kershaw, Joe Shepherd (Edgewick School); Rebecca Conway (Southfields School) and Wendy Jackson (Coventry Sports Foundation)