Partners and the Community
The adidas Mini London Marathon
Katie Ray
katier@london-marathon.co.uk
The adidas Mini London Marathon is run over the last 2.65 miles of the marathon course, along Victoria Embankment, through Parliament Square, down Birdcage Walk, and past Buckingham Palace. It involves races for children ages 11 to 17 years, divided into girls and boys in three age categories.
The race started in 1986 with children representing all 33 London boroughs. The event was so popular that in 2001, when adidas became the event sponsor, selected teams from English counties were invited based on their performances at the English Schools Cross Country Championships. In 2005, there were also teams representing Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The Mini Marathon starts at the junction of Southwark Bridge and Upper Thames Street and finishes in The Mall. More than 2,000 boys and girls take part in three age groups: 11-12, 13-14 and 15-17. There are now Borough and County races for boys and girls in each of the three age groups.
There are also two wheelchair races along the same course, open to youngsters ages 11-13 and 14-17 from London boroughs plus invited competitors from other parts of the UK. There are usually about 40 wheelchair competitors.
Future stars
The Mini Marathon is fast gaining a reputation for throwing up future stars of British distance running. A quick glance through the list of medalists shows a number of young runners who have since gone on to gain full international honors for Great Britain. There’s Mo Farah, for example, a Mini Marathon winner for Hounslow three years in a row (1998-2000) who’s since represented Britain at senior level five times, including finishing second over 3000m at last year’s European Cup and sixth at the European Indoor Championships. Other notable names include:
Faye Fullerton, a six-time Mini Marathon winner for Havering, who’s represented Britain at the European and World Cross Country Championships.
Jo Ankier, who won twice for Barnet and is now Britain’s leading woman steeplechaser, competing at the World Championships in Helsinki last year. She also starred in the London 2012 bid video, running through the streets of the capital.
Adam Hickey, who won the boys’ 15-17 race for Essex two years in a row, has represented Britain at European and World Cross Country Championships.
Jodie Swallow, who was second for Havering in 1998, is now one of our leading triathletes and was a member of Britain’s 2004 Athens Olympic team.
Katrina Wootton, now British junior 1500m champion, won the girls’ 15-17 race for Bedfordshire in 2001 and 2002.
