THE HEADTEACHER of a Little Sutton primary school has signed up to take on this year’s London Marathon – and his young pupils are helping him every step of the way.
Michael Forber, headteacher at Sutton Green Primary School, will tackle the 26-mile challenge in April in a bid to raise funds for Children with Cancer UK.
The 42-year-old has already passed his fundraising target of £2,000, after students, parents and staff rallied to raise £1,700 from a sponsored circuit session and more than £400 from Christmas concert ticket sales.
“The children and parents have been really supportive at school, both asking me how the training is going and raising the much needed sponsorship,” said Mr Forber, from Chester.
“The image of them cheering me on will keep me going round the London course and I look forward to telling them about my experience in assembly when I return.”
This is his second marathon – he successfully completed last year’s Chester Marathon, despite discovering just two days before that the school would be visited by Ofsted inspectors the following week.
“What an assembly it made in front of the inspectors on the Tuesday morning when the children broke into spontaneous applause after I told them about my experience,” he added.
Mr Forber will join Children with Cancer UK’s Mr Men and Little Miss team in the Virgin-sponsored event. He was inspired to support the cause by friends and relatives who have battled cancer in recent years.
He said: “It has been a lifetime ambition to run the London Marathon. So to run the marathon in 2012, having raised so much money for a cancer charity, makes it even more special for me.”
To sponsor Mr Forber, follow the link on www.suttongreen.org.
