Pupils from Lister Community School in Newham, who are taking part in the 2022 TCS Mini London Marathon, will officially open the TCS London Marathon Running Show at 10:00 on Wednesday 28 September at ExCeL London.

The children, aged between 12 and 14, will be accompanied by their teacher Faris Muhammed, who will be participating in the TCS London Marathon on Sunday 2 October.

This year is a landmark one for the TCS Mini London Marathon. The first edition of the new mass participation TCS Mini London Marathon will take place on Saturday 1 October, 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 and cross the world-famous Finish Line on The Mall.

In a unique new initiative, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will be providing the schools of every child who finishes the 2022 TCS Mini London Marathon with £10 per participant to spend on PE or IT equipment.

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. This event sees children across the UK running, walking, jogging or wheeling 2.6 miles in their schools – with 600,000 schoolchildren across the UK expected to take part this year – including pupils from Lister Community School. It is free for schools to enter and every child who completes the 2.6 miles will receive a free pin badge.

Muhammed said: “It’s a huge honour for the school to be invited to open the 2022 TCS London Marathon Running Show. The whole school loves the TCS Mini London Marathon. It’s really inspired the children to be more active.”

Aleena Ahmed, a volunteer from TCS’s Charity of the Year, City Year UK – a youth and education charity that empowers diverse 18 to 25-year-olds to tackle educational inequality through a year of full-time volunteering in schools – will join Chandrasekaran Ramkumar, TCS UK&I HR Director, to assist the children holding the tape at the opening of the show.

TCS is working with City Year UK to engage City Year schools to participate in the TCS Mini London Marathon as part of its goal to help inspire healthy choices among young people.

The TCS London Marathon Running Show is where 2022 participants must go prior to Marathon Day to collect their all-important Event Pack, which includes their bib number.

The event also gives people the chance to find out all the key information for Marathon Day, learn more about the TCS London Marathon and listen to guest speakers – including some of the athletes competing at this year’s event. There are also opportunities to shop and book a massage ahead of the big day.

The opening times of the 2022 TCS London Marathon Running Show are:

• Wednesday 28 September: 10:00-20:00
• Thursday 29 September: 10:00-20:00
• Friday 30 September: 10:00-20:00
• Saturday 1 October: 08:30-17:30

The 2022 TCS Mini London Marathon takes place on Saturday 1 October. The 2022 TCS London Marathon takes place on Sunday 2 October, with live coverage across the BBC.