FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Eliud Kipchoge to attend new TCS Mini London Marathon
The Kenyan legend will present medals to age group championships winners
on Saturday
Eliud Kipchoge, who smashed his own marathon world record in Berlin on
Sunday (25 September), travels to London this weekend to present medals to
the winners of the age group championships events in the new TCS Mini
London Marathon on Saturday 1 October - the day before the TCS London
Marathon.
Kipchoge, the four-time London Marathon champion, clocked an astonishing
2:01:09 at the BMW Berlin Marathon to take 30 seconds off the world record
he set in the same race in 2018. He now owns four of the five fastest times
in history and is also the only man to have run the marathon distance in
under two hours (not recognised as a world record).
On Saturday he will present the medals to the UK’s top young athletes
racing over the final 2.6K of the world-famous course and finishing under
the TCS London Marathon gantry on The Mall.
This year is a landmark one for the TCS Mini London Marathon. The first
edition of the new mass participation TCS Mini London Marathon follows the
championships races on Saturday, when thousands of children and young
people of all abilities, aged from four to 17, will take part in either
2.6K or one-mile events on the same finishing stretch of the TCS London
Marathon course. In a unique new initiative, Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) will give the school of every child who finishes £10 per participant
to spend on PE or IT equipment.
Kipchoge, who is an Ambassador for the TCS Mini London Marathon, said: "I
really support the initiative of the TCS London Marathon to promote running
at all ages. I like running to be a family activity since running is life.
It will bring joy, happiness and health to our children, who are the
future, so let’s all embrace this."
Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the TCS London Marathon, said: "We are
thrilled that Eliud, our four-time champion, will be with us this weekend.
He is, without doubt, the GOAT of marathon running and will be a huge
inspiration to everyone taking part in the TCS Mini London Marathon on
Saturday."
Over the years the Mini London Marathon has launched the careers of
international athletics stars including Laura Muir, Keely Hodgkinson and
Josh Kerr - not to mention Sir Mo Farah, who won the Mini Marathon three
times.
Paralympic medallists Hannah Cockroft and Kare Adenegan are also both
former winners of the Mini Marathon, along with Paralympic gold medallist
David Weir - who has won the London Marathon a record eight times - and
two-time London Marathon winner Shelly Woods.
In addition to the new TCS Mini London Marathon, the virtual TCS Mini
London Marathon in schools is also taking place from now until Friday 21
October. The event sees children from across the UK running, walking,
jogging or wheeling 2.6 miles in their schools, with 600,000 expected to
take part this year. It is free for schools to enter and every child who
completes the challenge receives a free pin badge.
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