THE Knaphill Federation of Schools, which consists of Knaphill Lower School and Knaphill Junior School, sent out an impressive squad of 34 runners for the events at the Surrey Half Marathon on Sunday.

“Teachers and parents were on hand to whoop as the children crossed the finish line,” said  Vikki Zeila, vice chairman of the Knaphill Schools PTA.

“And our children were lucky enough to meet the Mayor of Woking, Cllr Saj Hussain,who congratulated them on their achievements.

“We had six runners who completed the half marathon, including our Year 4 leader, Chris Mills, who completed in under 1hr 28min.

“Six parents and teachers took on the challenge of the 5K and 22 children completed the 2K kids’ race.

“We were lucky to have children from across year groups, with runners ranging from five to 11 years old. 

“Everyone was amazing. We had first-time runners thrilled by their medals – and cupcakes – finishers beating their personal bests and plenty of smiles and memories made along the way.

“It was wonderful to see so many from our school community come out and take on such an incredible physical challenge.  We were completely filled with pride by the spirit of our community and the achievements of all who ran. 

“Although sponsorship money is still coming in, we have so far raised around £1,000 for the school and we are very thankful for the support that the community has shown us.

“The money raised will be used to create chill out/sensory rooms in our schools and will be such a great resource to help the mental wellbeing of our children.”

To donate to the Knaphill Federation of Schools, visit www.justgiving.com and search for knaphillrunners23.

Get the 16 March edition of the News & Mail for a special picture spread of the event – in shops from Thursday.