When we agreed to relaunch the Thanet Primary Schools' Cross Country series, sport across the country was just starting to get back on its feet.

What we didn't realise, as we emerged from the pandemic was that a fresh challenge was just around the corner.

Insurance premiums, medals for the runners, parking services and portable toilet hire; the price of everything involved in running events has risen steeply.

With families cutting down on unnecessary expenditure, increasing the race entry fee was hardly an effective way of encouraging as many children as possible to run!

So we kept the price at £3.50 per child and in October, we took a bit of a chance on the people of Thanet. We stated on the entry form that anyone who was struggling with the cost-of-living crisis could enter their children for free.

It was an experiment in trust and I think it worked pretty well with 83% of the entries paid for.

For March 2023, we are again keeping race entry down to £3.50 per child. We need just under 1000 children taking part to cover our costs.

Any contribution towards supporting young runners in the local area would be hugely appreciated.

Will you help us?

      Steve King
      Race Director - Thanet Primary Schools' Cross Country
      Thanet District Coordinator - Kent Schools' Athletic Association

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Apart from the primary schools' races, we'd also love to do something for Years 7 to 9 later in the year.

They missed opportunities to race during the COVID-19 pandemic and are now at the age when many youngsters turn their backs on sport. It would be great to give them their own series of races and hopefully keep a few of them engaged in running as they get older.

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          East Kent Coaching Ltd
          Account no. 59076062
          Lloyds Bank 30-98-97

Race Sponsorship
We are looking to partner with local companies interested in sponsoring one of our future races. If you represent a local business and may be interested, please enquire without obligation.