The junior marathon was inspired by the children’s race at the end of the Romsey Relay Marathon, Some imagination by a 9-year-old to bring those ideas together.
In 2022 one local schoolgirl decided to run a mile-a-day for 26 days to cover the official marathon distance in an effort to raise £100 toward her school PTA’s outdoor classroom fund. 26 days, 26 miles, a lot of rain, media coverage, and over £2,500 of sponsorship and gift-aid later, the idea had officially taken off.
Making the event bigger and better for 2023 involves getting schools and runners involved to increase the amount of money all of us can raise for good causes. We’re growing the event by looking for junior-school aged children to run 26 miles – in any way that suits you and your adults – between the dates of the TCS London Marathon (Home - TCS London Marathon) on Sunday, April 23rd 2023 and the Barratt Homes Romsey Relay Marathon on Sunday May 21st. There’s no need to run a set amount every day – it needs to work for you (and your adults!) around all the other stuff you have to do. Our objective is to build a running community for the event and make it as easy as possible for anyone to get involved, however they can.
The Romsey Relay Marathon is offering all participants the chance to take part in the final leg as a 1.3-mile lap of the Relay Marathon course in Broadlands free-of-charge. Just turn up on the day and join the start of the children’s race. If you can’t make it that day, that’s ok too – but we’d love to have you there.
What do you do if you’re not junior-school aged? Get involved anyway and enjoy raising some money for your favourite cause and getting fit in the process!
As a school – for advice and support please contact [details – can we have a kidsmarathon@ address for example]. Setting up a fundraising page as an organisation (you’ll need your PTA charity number or equivalent) will allow all fundraisers to be shown as a total on the main page. A great way to drive engagement and keep everyone focussed.
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As a runner – ask your school to get involved and you can then set up a funding page linked to theirs. Alternatively, sign up on one of the sites suggested below (with your guardian’s consent), plan your running, and start fundraising.
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Talk to your guardians and your school to get them involved.
Plan your runs for the four weeks.
Set up your fundraising page.
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Start running!
Tell everyone you can about your efforts and why you’re raising money.
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Keep running!
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Sponsorship.
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Tell some more people about your fundraising.
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Come along if you can on the day of the Relay Marathon for the single-lap (1.3-mile) children’s race at 14:30, and this can double up as your final run (and you even get a medal).
Relax. And start planning for next year…
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Sponsorship
Schools and runners choose which charities they wish to support. The key to sponsorship is to just get out there and ask your friends and family for some support. You’ll be surprised by the generosity you will find. There are lots of ways to do this. We have local schools on board, and they are using a variety of free platforms to raise funds, such as JustGiving and Virgin Money Giving. These platforms are very easy to use.
About the Day.
From humble beginnings in 2013, comes a family day out in 2023. Aside from the race we will be joined by children's entertainment, charity stalls, games, rides, food and drink all in the spectacular Broadlands Park. Plus commentary by our team of Comperes.
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Every penny that the teams raise goes to the charities and good causes they support. We can only achieve that from the generosity of our business partners and sponsors who pay for the event.
The Rotary Club of Romsey is part of a world wide organisation of men and women who use their time, skills and enthusiasm to give something back to the community whilst at the same time having fun. Romsey is fortunate in having two clubs, the Rotary Club of Romsey and the Rotary Club of Romsey Test which meets on a Wednesday evening.
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Throughout the year we support hundreds of charities as well as organising community events such as the Mayors Picnic and Carols in the Market Place. Between the clubs we also hold annual events such as Golf Days, Walk the Test Way and the Relay Marathon. As well as supporting local good causes Rotary works internationally. Our two clubs are currently involved in several projects in West and Central Africa and globally, Rotary International has been a leader in the Polio Plus campaign to wipe polio from the face of the earth.
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If you'd like more information about Rotary, or are thinking about joining then get in touch using the form below.
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As a local employer with a particular attachment to Romsey we are delighted to once more be the headline sponsor of this fantastic event and will again also be entering teams.
The Rotary Clubs’ ethos closely dovetails that of Barratt David Wilson Southampton and so many of our staff have taken the event to our hearts as we can further support our chosen local charities and the company will match fund all the monies raised by our staff.
So many good causes benefit from the Relay Marathon whilst participants can raise funds for charities of their choice and enjoying the day. A particular draw to the event for us is that we can actually help in the delivery of the event and not just by providing funding.
Here’s to another successful year.
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