FAQs

• How do I register my school?
  You can register your school to take part in the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools here. Each school just needs to make one entry and you can estimate the number of children who will be taking part.  
• Do children have to run – can they walk instead? What if a child has a disability?

  We’d like children to get out of breath if they can, as this is what helps them become fitter and healthier. Some children might run the whole time, others might jog or slow down to get their breath back.

  Children with disabilities can complete the event in a way that meets their needs – whether that’s walking, pushing themselves, being pushed, walking with crutches, or in whatever other way they can. The TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is for all children and young people!

• How can I promote the event in my school?
  You can use the resources to help make a splash in your school. Put up posters all around the school and print off participant bib numbers for everyone to wear. We love to see your pictures on social media – share them using #MiniLondonMarathon. You could also fundraise for a charity or the school and get the whole community involved.
• Is there still a physical TCS Mini London Marathon taking place on the streets of the capital?
  Yes, there’s a one-mile and a 2.6K event taking place in central London on Saturday 22 April. The event is now at capacity, so if you would like your pupils to be involved this year entering the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is a great option!
• What do I do when the children have completed the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools?
  This year, we are inviting all schools to take part in the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools and to set a new Guinness World Records title and set a new world record for the most pledges received to take part in an exercise campaign in one month. We will send information to you in April to explain what you need to do to help us break the world record.
• Will children receive pin badges this year?
  Sorry – we won’t be sending out pin badges this year. We know some schools have loved receiving these but this year we will be focusing on the world record attempt and making sure every school gets a free certificate if we break the record. 
• Can a PTA register for the event?
  A PTA can register, as long as a member of the school staff is involved in the planning for the event. The school address will need to be provided when you register.
• Do we need to measure out one mile exactly?

  You can measure the exact distance if you want to and if you have time. If not, feel free to use a rough estimate of the distance. The most important thing is that children are getting out of breath and feel the benefits of physical activity.

  If your school does The Daily Mile (15 minutes of jogging or running) then that counts as completing the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools.

• I am a parent/carer – can I register my child?
  The TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is for UK schools to enter and complete during the school day, so parents/carers are not able to register their children. We would encourage parents and carers to speak to their school though and ask them to take part.
• What do I do once I have registered my school?
  Once you are registered, you can start planning the event in your school. The resources will soon have everything you need to download for free – participant bib numbers for the children and posters to spread the word. Decide where and when the children will be completing their mile – remember that you can do this over one day, two days, three days or more, depending on the ages and abilities of the children. Think about whether you want to raise funds for your school or a charity and head to the fundraising section to find out more – spread the word to your school community! And don’t forget you can also be part of trying to break a world record this year. We’ll send more information about how to do this in April.
• We do The Daily Mile – does this count as the mile?
  If your school does The Daily Mile (15 minutes of jogging or running) then this counts for the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools and you can just do what you normally do.
• Which schools can take part in the event?
  Any school in the UK can take part.
• What do we need to do to take part in the world record attempt?

  The first step is to enter your school in the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools. To enter the world record attempt, each child in your school will need to pledge to take part. This will require an additional step. From Monday 17 April every registered school will be sent a special link to do this with full instructions and pupils will need to take the pledges by Friday 12 May.  

  Don’t worry, it won’t take too long – the pupils can make their pledge in their classrooms, and it will take less than 10 minutes for a class of 30 or so to make their pledges, as long as they have access to an interactive screen.  

• When will we know if we have broken a world record?
  It will take a little time before we can confirm this. After Friday 12 May, all the pledges will be carefully counted and checked to see if there are more than 241,675 different pledges in total. If any of the information isn’t correct, it won’t be included in the attempt. We should know if we have broken the record by the end of May – we will email schools to let them know. 
• Will schools get a Guinness World Records certificate?
  Yes. If we are successful, then every registered school will receive a certificate from Guinness World Records completely free of charge. It will be yours to keep and display in school.  
• Can we purchase additional certificates? 
  The school will receive one Guinness World Records certificate free of charge. If further certificates are required, the school, as well as parents and carers, will have the opportunity to purchase additional certificates if they wish to do so. Further details about this will be sent by the end of May (if we are successful!).