Vale teacher Vicki runs marathon around playground
DRESSED as a pineapple, a teacher from Vale Primary School spent her Thursday in the playground, running a marathon.
Year 3 teacher Vicki Joyce ran 209 laps of the playground to complete the marathon, and was joined by school pupils the entire way.
‘I’m on the Anthony Nolan charity team for the London Marathon, and so I’m essentially running a marathon to raise money to run a marathon,’ she said.
‘The children have been absolutely phenomenal, they’ve been coming out throughout the day to run with me, chatting with me and cheering me on.
‘They have been so supportive and it was great to get them running also.’
Mrs Joyce opened up a competition to the students, where they could decide what they wanted her to dress up as. Edward in year 5 suggested a pineapple and won the competition.
She said that the outfit had definitely made it harder because it was so hot.
It was calculated that eight laps around the school playground was equivalent to a mile, so the children were challenged to run eight laps across the day to complete their daily mile.
Some classes ran the marathon as a group, with each pupil running between about 10 laps.
A sporty-themed mufti day was also held to raise money for the cause.
‘Everyone has been so enthusiastic about the marathon, so it will be really interesting once we calculate how many miles were run collectively today,’ she said.
n Mrs Joyce’s fundraising goal is £2,000. Anyone wanting to donate can do so at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/v-joyce
