CHILDREN READY FOR BIGGEST EVER TCS MINI LONDON MARATHON

—- More than 14,000 children register to take part in TCS Mini London Marathon on Saturday 20 April
Title partner TCS to give £10 per finisher to their schools to spend on PE or IT equipment
Charity partner WWF-UK’s celebrity supporter Joe Wicks to hand out medals and lead warm-ups at event
More than 350,000 children already registered for TCS Mini London Marathon in schools which runs until May 10
Children and young people across the UK are experiencing their own version of marathon fever this week by being part of the biggest-ever TCS Mini London Marathon and TCS Mini London Marathon in schools.

While Sunday’s (21 April) TCS London Marathon may be the focus for thousands of adults preparing for the iconic 26.2 miles, the minds of a record number of children will be set on completing a distance of either one mile or 2.6K one day earlier at the TCS Mini London Marathon on Saturday (20 April).

Now in its third year as a stand-alone event, the TCS Mini London Marathon is held around St James’s Park and shares the same world-famous Finish Line on The Mall as the TCS London Marathon.

The event begins at 09:00 with championship races for the best young athletes from across the UK, all emulating the likes of Sir Mo Farah, Keely Hodgkinson and David Weir who have all taken part in the event in the past.

This is followed by a series of mass participation one-mile and 2.6K waves for children and young people aged between four and 17 from schools across the country.

As part of a commitment to inspire future generations of runners and to encourage participation, every participant aged 17 or under who finishes the 2024 TCS Mini London Marathon will earn £10 from title partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for their school to spend on PE or IT equipment. Schools have used the donations to purchase new PE equipment for a range of sports including basketball, football, and gymnastics.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands more pupils around the UK are taking part in the free-to-enter TCS Mini London Marathon in schools challenge where children and young people run, jog, walk or wheel 2.6 miles in their school setting. The challenge started yesterday (Monday 15 April) and runs until Friday 10 May with more than 300,000 children already registered to take part.

Children taking part are given their own downloadable TCS Mini London Marathon running bibs and certificates for taking part with the schools also given a Finish Line tape to make the experience even more fun.

To celebrate the transformational impact of educators in the lives of their students, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has awarded a select group of teachers with the opportunity to run the 2024 TCS London Marathon as part of its Team TCS Teachers programme. Teachers encourage students in their respective schools to get active and inspire them to run, jog, walk, or wheel, by taking part in the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools.

Additionally, in an exciting new partnership for 2024, WWF-UK (the World Wide Fund for Nature) has become the inaugural charity partner of both the TCS Mini London Marathon and TCS Mini London Marathon in schools.

The partnership will see WWF-UK work alongside London Marathon Events (organisers of the TCS Mini London Marathon) to encourage more children and young people to be physically active while inspiring and equipping the next generation to be responsible stewards of our world.

To mark the partnership, WWF celebrity supporter Joe Wicks (aka The Body Coach) will be on site on The Mall at Saturday’s TCS Mini London Marathon to act as a starter, hand out medals to finishers and even take children through some of his famous warm-ups.

The WWF team will also be on site in Horse Guards Parade, and visitors can pop by their stand to find out more about their work. There will be lots of fun and games for children to get involved in.

Ben Cooper, TCS Mini London Marathon Event Lead, said: “The TCS Mini London Marathon and TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is growing every year which, crucially, means we are inspiring more and more children and young people to be active. Some children might be taking part in organised activity for the very first time while others might be more experienced, but our aim is the same for all; we want to put smiles on faces, make activity fun and encourage more children to make it part of their daily routine.”

Ramkumar Chandrasekaran, HR Director, UK and Ireland at TCS, said: “As the title partner of the TCS Mini London Marathon we are committed to working with LME to make the event an enjoyable and inspiring experience year after year. This partnership underscores our shared belief in the power of sports and technology to transform and empower young minds. At TCS, we are committed to inspiring the next generation of runners, encouraging them to embrace a lifestyle that champions physical fitness and personal growth. We are looking forward to the biggest ever TCS Mini London Marathon as more than 14,000 children will take on the streets of London, inspired to reach for their dreams and embody the values of perseverance and excellence.”

Holly McKinlay, Director of Communications and Brand at WWF-UK, said: “We are so excited to join forces this month with the TCS Mini London Marathon and to be supported by the brilliant Joe Wicks too. It is so important that young people are able to get outside and be in nature, for both their wellbeing and to inspire them to look after our planet. The Mini Marathon is such a fantastic opportunity to do so while supporting WWF’s mission to bring our world back to life.”

The TCS Mini London Marathon on Saturday 20 April is fully subscribed. However, schools can still be part of the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools which started yesterday (Monday 15 April) and can be held any time until Friday 10 May. To enter, or for more information, click here. It is free to register.

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Notes to Editors

About TCS Mini London Marathon in schools and TCS Mini London Marathon

The Mini London Marathon in schools was launched in 2020
The 2024 TCS Mini London Marathon in schools takes place between Monday 15 April and Friday 10 May
More than 1,000,000 children have taken part in the Mini London Marathon in schools since 2020
The Mini London Marathon was first held in 1986 and ran until 2021 on the same day as the London Marathon. It featured championship races for the best athletes in London and across the UK
In 2022, the TCS Mini London Marathon was held as a stand-alone event for the first time in its history, with schools across the UK able to enter
The 2024 TCS Mini London Marathon will take place on Saturday 20 April and the TCS London Marathon on Sunday 21 April
The TCS Mini London Marathon in schools, TCS Mini London Marathon and TCS London Marathon are organised by London Marathon Events
London Marathon Events gifts its surplus each year to The London Marathon Foundation
Since 1981, The London Marathon Foundation has awarded grants totalling in excess of £105 million to more than 1,690 projects
London Marathon Events gifts its surplus each year to the London Marathon Foundation (the operating name of The London Marathon Charitable Trust, a registered charity (283813) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales (01550741), registered office: 190 Great Dover Street, London, SE1 4YB)
For more information, visit tcslondonmarathon.com
About Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and business solutions organization that has been partnering with many of the world’s largest businesses in their transformation journeys for over 55 years. Its consulting-led, cognitive powered, portfolio of business, technology and engineering services and solutions is delivered through its unique Location Independent Agile™ delivery model, recognized as a benchmark of excellence in software development.

A part of the Tata group, India’s largest multinational business group, TCS has over 608,000 of the world’s best-trained consultants in 55 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $27.9 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, and is listed on the BSE and the NSE in India. TCS’ proactive stance on climate change and award-winning work with communities across the world have earned it a place in leading sustainability indices such as the MSCI Global Sustainability Index and the FTSE4Good Emerging Index. For more information, visit www.tcs.com

About WWF

WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) is a global environmental charity, and we’re bringing our world back to life. With nature in freefall, we’re urgently tackling the underlying causes that are driving the decline – especially the food system and climate change. And we’re finding solutions so future generations have a world with thriving habitats and wildlife.

It’s a huge challenge, but there is hope. We’re working globally with governments, companies, communities and others who have the will to act and the power to transform our world. We’re using our ground-breaking scientific research, our global influence, and the backing of our many supporters to make sure the natural world’s vital signs are recovering by 2030.

WWF. Bringing our world back to life.

Find out more about our work, past and present at wwf.org.uk

For further information, please contact:

Ryan Goad | Head of Communications & TV | London Marathon Events Ltd

e ryan.goad@londonmarathonevents.co.uk | m +44 (0) 7950 708574

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