Olympian encourages children to take up running

A former Olympian is encouraging children to stay active by taking up running.

Steve Cram visited St Barnabas Primary School in Worcester to urge people to sign up to his running events, which are taking place in September.

The Team GB track and field athlete oversees the city's half marathon, 10k and junior routes.

Speaking at an assembly at the school, he told pupils running was one of the "easiest things to do."

He said the great thing about running was that "you could do it anywhere, whether it's in your school yard or in your field."

"All you need is a pair of shoes and a bit of kit to go out and you can do it anywhere and it doesn't cost much."

Mr Cram, a former 1,500m world champion, told the assembly he would get "really nervous" about running when younger but nerves were a "good thing" as you "perform better when you're nervous."

"I realised that sometimes I was going to win, and sometimes I wasn't going to win," he said.

His Worcester City Runs, including a family relay event, take place in the city on 14 and 15 September.

"We've seen the junior run grow and it's great that schools like St Barnabas get involved in such a way and it gives them a focus that you can do other things around," Mr Cram added.

"We've got the 10k and the marathon of course we have but if we're not encouraging youngsters to have an active lifestyle, we won't have people doing things later on."

Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, external, X,, external and Instagram, external, Send your story ideas to: [email protected], external