Six-year-old runs marathon to raise money for teacher's illness

Poppy Maxwell is running a full marathon to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. Poppy Maxwell, a Year 2 student from Yaxley, took on the challenge on July 18 after her favourite teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer. On route to finish the race by August 14th, she has already raised over £2,000 for the life-saving charity.

Poppy, whose mother, Amy, is also a runner, has been pounding the pavements regularly since last summer. The budding athlete had initially planned to run 10km in 10 days, but after much consideration, she settled on a longer project – 42km over the course of her summer holidays.

'I wanted to challenge myself and I knew a marathon would be hard, but I wanted to try and raise lots of money,' Poppy tells Runner’s World UK.

While the experience has been mostly enjoyable so far, it has not been without its obstacles.

'Running when it’s hot is really hard!' Poppy admits. The young runner also finds the long stretches tough, taking walking breaks when needed to cover the distance.

Despite these struggles, Poppy stays focused by varying up her routes and running with the support of her family. 'We run in different places including Holkham beach and on trails,' reveals Amy.

Initially ‘a bit apprehensive’ about Poppy’s marathon, Amy and dad Gary have since been blown away by their daughter’s perseverance. 'We've been impressed with her determination and she never complains (unless it's hot!)' Amy says.

Poppy also knows that to complete the marathon, she needs to follow every runner’s favourite training rule – carb up. 'I like to eat pasta, mashed potato and apple Soreen. I want to be a strong runner,' she says.

With just days to go until she finishes her marathon, Poppy is already thinking of her next running goal. 'I'd like to get a new Junior parkrun PB and when I'm older I'd like to start my own Junior parkrun.'

posted Saturday August 15th
by Runner’s World