Northampton school run with cross-country legend with record of 401 marathons

Ben Smith, who ran 401 marathons in 401 days, ran with the pupils at Parklands Primary School.

Mr Smith made headlines in 2016 when he completed his “401 challenge”, running a record 401 marathons in 401 days and raising £250,000 for anti-bullying charities.

Parklands Primary School pupils ran their morning laps around the school with the long-distance legend during a special visit.

Mr Smith also held two assemblies to talk about his motivation to run and share stories from his challenge.

Sally Gedney, head of Parklands Primary School, said: “Ben was an inspirational talker and provided lots of motivation, encouragement and praise to the runners.

“Parklands will keep running and keep following the exploits of Ben. They won’t forget his visit for a long time.

"As Ben only started running 4 years ago, he has a strong message that you may not yet have found that something you are good at. So keep trying.

"Intra-house running is a regular feature of our sports provision and as a school we also promote a strong anti-bullying message."

Over 50 pupils run every Tuesday morning as part of the school’s cross country club.