The Coventry Children’s Mile will take place this weekend after a three year absence. The popular event, which sees thousands of youngsters running a mile to raise money for charity, last took place in 2019, with the 2020 race cancelled due to the pandemic.
But it makes a welcome return on Sunday, June 18, at the city’s War Memorial Park. This year, the Coventry Children’s Mile will be part of the wider Go Parks scheme, which aims to promote activity in parks and greenspaces while encouraging physical activity across schools city-wide. The event generally is designed to encourage children to stay active.
Participants will be supporting 2023’s Team Coventry by raising funds for travel costs for the team to compete in the International Children’s Games which is taking part in Daegu, South Korea after taking place in Coventry in 2022.
All participants will receive a T-shirt and certificate of participation and can choose to run, walk or jog the route. The route is fully accessible, meaning children of all abilities can take part.
Entries are to be made via primary schools, with P.E. leads in each school receiving all necessary information from their School Games Organiser.
The Coventry Children’s Mile 2023 is a partnership between CV Life, Coventry City Council, and Coventry’s School Games Organisers.
CV Life’s Stuart Bird said: “The Children’s Mile should be really exciting after its return following the COVID-19 pandemic which led to the last run in 2020 being cancelled.
“We have 16 primary schools and over 450 young people running the mile. Money raised will be supporting Team Coventry’s trip to the International Children’s Games which is a fantastic cause.
“A number of CV Life staff members are giving up their time on Sunday morning to support the event from CEO to Sports Coaches. This really shows the togetherness and willingness of the organisation to support each other. Some will be lead runners, safeguarding officers, first aiders, marshals and event support.
“It looks set to be a great occasion and we can’t wait.”
Councillor Kamran Caan, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Sport, said, “It’s fantastic news that the Coventry Children’s Mile event is returning this year. It’s great for the young generation of the city to have the event back, and it’s a fully inclusive event that promotes physical activity and wellbeing.
“The Coventry Children’s Mile is a fantastic opportunity for children across the city to get involved in a fun and exciting activity while also supporting a worthy cause. I encourage all local primary schools to get involved and help make it a huge success.”
Danny Kingham and Stuart Davoile, Coventry School Games Organisers, said: “We had no doubt in wanting to support the return of the Coventry Children’s Mile. It was a brilliant event and one that sees huge participation, which is ultimately what we want to see as School Games Organisers.”