Ben Shephard starts Ealing Mini Mile

The Ealing Mini Mile takes place the day before the Ealing Half Marathon this Saturday 23^rd September and TV presenter and running enthusiast, Ben Shephard will be starting the first race.

Introduced in 2013, the Ealing Mini Mile has become a popular event for young runners of all levels aged 6-16 who want to part of the race weekend atmosphere and experience crossing the finish line of a big race. The Mile race will start in the afternoon and covers a one mile route around Ealing’s Lammas Park and the race village.

This year St Augustine’s Priory, Ealing is sponsoring the event which will see the biggest ever field of runners and there will be five races depending on age category:

13.00              6-7 year olds
13.40              8 year olds
14.20              9 year olds
15.00              10 – 11 year olds
15.40              12-16 year olds

Ben Shephard said: “This is the first time I will have experienced the Ealing Half Marathon and I’m delighted to be part of the experience that young runners will be having on Saturday afternoon.

“I love running, I’ve recently been going to parkrun with my son and encouraging young people to get involved in sport and running is something I feel really strongly about. Just getting out there and having a go is what it’s all about. To have so many categories for the Ealing Mini Mile is fantastic – I can’t wait to get to the race village.”

Events Co-Ordinator, Sandra Courtney, commented: “The Ealing Mini Mile has become a central part of the Ealing Half Marathon weekend and to be able to dedicate an afternoon to the Mini Mile is a huge testament to the popularity that running has built in and around Ealing.

“We are thrilled that Ben is joining us on Saturday afternoon to start the first race. To see young people having the opportunity to experience the atmosphere of a big race is fantastic and we’re delighted that St Augustine’s Priory is sponsoring the event.”

The Ealing Mini Mile sees entries from junior members of the local athletics clusbs as well as offspring of the Ealing Half Marathon runners and a large number of youngsters who have never taken part in a running event before.

Current Mini Mile course records are held by Charlotte Buckley from Thames Valley Harriers (00:05:43) and Joseph Barnes (00:05:18).