L’Etape du Tour Team

Over 30 cyclists from across the country joined 8,500 other riders to cycle 116 miles in searing heat through the Pyrenees.


The team lined up with a host of international cyclists to tackle one of the toughest stages in the Etape du Tour annual amateur race, which takes place before the main Tour de France riders tackle the course.

Dr Kevin Blyth, from Glasgow said: "It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"The heat in France was unbelievable, with temperatures up to 100F, and the course was incredibly demanding.

"I had to put in a lot of training - cycling into work every day and up to 100 miles at the weekend.

"My legs are aching but it was a fantastic experience."

Each year, Tour de France organisers select one stage from the race and offer riders of all ages the chance to sample the course.

Around 2,000 of the 8,500 riders fail to reach the finish line each year because the route is so physically demanding.

David Butler from The Personal Training Centre, which kindly hold training days for the Get Kids Going running team, also took part and was so enthused by the event he has volunteered to be team leader next year.

“It was an amazing experience, but I can’t wait to do it again”, he said.

We would like to thank every member of Get Kids Going's L'Etape du Tour team the best of luck for their hard work and the money they raised from the event.

If you would like to take part in L'Etape du Tour in 2009 we'd also be delighted to hear from you. Please email us or call 0207 481 8110.

Victories and photos from The Great South Run

On another gloriously sunny day, over 120 runners took part in the Great South Run in October for Get Kids Going! Below are just a few pictures from the day.

Once again Get Kids Going! wheelchair athlete, David Weir, put in a spectacular performance and won the men's race.

David finished in 35 minutes 15 seconds, over two minutes ahead of Get Kids Going!'s Tushar Patel, who came second and with the 2004 winner Kenny Herriot back in third position.

David and Tushar are pictured on the awards podium with the Mayor of Portsmouth




We also see Tushar later with the GB wheelchair squad coach, Get Kids Going!'s Paul Hunt (left) and Jane:

Shelly Woods also gave a great performance and won the women's race. Shelly Woods achieved a time of 44 minutes, 1 second, over the 10-mile course, and is seen below triumphantly crossing the finishing line.

Shelly is also pictured below with Jane:

Shelly then picked up her medal from the Mayor of Portsmouth




The rest our runners looked forward to a well deserved massage in the Get Kids Going! marquee at the end of the race:

We'd like to offer our congratulations and thanks to all the runners who took part in the race for us. If you would like to enter the Great South Run 2009 please visit our website and apply online.

Photos from the Great North Run

Over 700 runners took part in the 25th Great North Run in September for Get Kids Going! Below are just a few pictures from the day.

Our first picture above shows our youngest runner, five year old Sophie Stephenson with the Get Kids Going cheering team at the Junior Great North Run on Saturday 17th September.

You have already seen our wheelchair athletes in the previous story, but other wheelchair athletes from Get Kids Going! did not let the side down even if they weren't in the top 3 or four positions.

Steve Edwards is pictured below:

We also had some great fancy dress runners:

From mother and daughter team, Alexandra and Sue Lucas

To Graham Hadfield as a dragon, pictured below with Jane:

More runners were snapped by the BBC throughout the day

At the end of the race runners congregated outside the Get Kids Going! marquee where a queue began for the well earned and well deserved massages.

Here are some runners having their massages:

We'd like to offer our congratulations and thanks to all the runners who took part in the race for us. If you would like to enter the 2009 Great North Run please visit our website and apply online.

Shelly & David set new course records at the Great North Run

Get Kids Going's top wheelchair athletes, David Weir and Shelly Woods set new British and course records to win the Great North Run wheelchair races on the 18th September.


David Weir, who last won the Great North Run in 2003, achieved an impressive 42 minutes 35 seconds over the 13.1 mile course to beat David Holding's previous record of 44.25.

Get Kids Going's Tushar Patel was second, almost two minutes back, with German Ralph Brunner third.

Our very own Shelly Woods also finished in the record time of 50 minutes 7 seconds, beating our Vice President Dame Tanni Grey Thompson's record of 52.17.

Tanni came 5th in the race.

Shelly beat Francesca Porcellato by 39 seconds to win the event.


Shelly raced much of the course with coach Jason Gill, and had finished second to Francesca in the London Marathon and also at the Great Manchester Run but we wish her the best of luck as she is now set to race in the Berlin Marathon on the 25th September.

We'd like to send congratulations from everyone at Get Kids Going! to David and Shelley who were also interviewed live on BBC TV by Sue Barker.

Tushar Patel, came 2nd. Brian Alldis also did extremely well and came fifth in the senior men's race with a time of 46.10 minutes

We'd like to offer our congratulations to our entire wheelchair team and thanks to all the runners who took part in the race for us. If you would like to enter the 2009 Great North Run please visit our website and apply online.

Amazing photos from our brave Parachute jumpers

Over 30,000 people make their first parachute jump each year, but over ten times that amount think about doing one. But when you see the excitement on the faces of some of our skydivers, hopefully you will be tempted to join them.


Jenny Robbins and Jane Finlay called themselves our “Golden Oldies” and show that you’re never too old to make the plunge:

Jane said: “The jump was fantastic! An amazing experience. I am delighted to have done it for Get Kids Going - a great charity - and our fundraising might get someone to the 2012 Olympics!”

Jane and Jenny have raised an amazing £3,000 from their tandem Parachute jumps which they completed at the Netheravon Parachute centre near Salisbury.

Jenny who works at the Cranmore Prep school in Leatherhead sent round a picture of the skydive after the event to prove she had done it and the money came pouring in.

Meanwhile Derek Barrett, Marco Giudice and Jonathon Silva decided to do solo parachute jumps which involved a two day adventure at the London Parachute Centre in High Wycombe.

Our wheelchair athletes on Blue Peter

Mickey Bushell, David Weir, Tushar Patel, Shelly Woods and Brian Alldis were five out of seven wheelchair athletes who set off to re-create some of the speeds experienced at the Tunnel 2K race and were filmed by the BBC's Blue Peter.


In an earlier piece Shelly and Mickey displayed their skills by navigating around giant bean bags in the famous Blue Peter studios in West London.

In the actual 2K Tunnel race Mickey came 17th and completed the course in 8 minutes and three seconds. The winner was Jeff Adams, from Canada, coming in at four minutes 40.1 seconds through the tunnel, he beat our very own David Weir into second place.

However, Tushar Patel clocked the course's fastest speed of 41.4mph.

Australian Eliza Stankovic won the women's event with Get Kids Going! Shelly Woods second and our vice president Dame Tanni Grey Thompson came third.

In the mock race at the BBC, Tushar also came in just slightly ahead of David Weir.

If you would like to see a video of the Blue Peter story, click here.

More Golds for David Weir

David scored a double victory in the 200m wheelchair demonstration race and he also won the 100m race on the 14th August.


"I can't believe it, to be the winner here in two events," said David.

"I've been working on my work around the bends although I didn't get as good a start as I wanted."

We wish David every success when he takes part in the European Open Paralympic Championships, which begin next week in Espoo, Finland.

"I'll be racing the same guys again at the European Championships which will be tough as the track is slower but the support I had at Helsinki was fantastic," he added.