Olympian meets with St Mary’s NS pupils

Former Irish Olympian David Gillick visited St Mary's NS, Athlone, to meet with 5th Class pupils as part of a novel running initiative.

St Mary's NS is hosting an eight-week running programme for 5th Class in partnership with Marathonkids Ireland.

This programme began in early March and it involves students performing four running sessions each week inching them closer to completing their first marathon, as well as learning about the benefits of physical activity.

Students will run/jog/walk an assigned distance each week. This is designed to be completed daily over four days each week with students achieving the target distance each week to make 26.2 miles.

Irish Olympic athlete David Gillick is a Marathon Kids Ireland Ambassador and he visited St Mary's NS on Monday, March 7. He was a huge source of inspiration to the boys and girls who participated in a training session with David throughout the afternoon. David talked to all the pupils about the importance of a healthy diet and lifestyle and his visit was a huge source of motivation for pupils.