School children have been showing their support for marathon marvel, Gary McKee, as he runs 365 marathons in 365 days.

Pupils at St Gregory & St Patrick's Catholic Infant School in Whitehaven lined the cycle path which runs beside their school to cheer Gary on as he passed.

The youngsters have helped boost the marathon man's fundraising total for Macmillan Cancer Support and Hospice at Home West Cumbria, by taking part in a daily mile running challenge.

Gary was invited to join two pupils from each class to run a mile in the school playground and then spoke to the school about the importance of health and fitness.

Children as young as two from pre-nursery completed the sponsored mile and now a cheque for £3,658 has been handed over to Gary, who was "blown away" by the amount raised.

Kayleigh Rowlandson, year two teacher, organised the event as part of pupils learning about the importance of physical activity and exercise.

She said: "The children loved it. They thought it was great.
"We talked about the importance of Gary doing all this hard work to raise money for people who are sick and how it will hopefully try to make them better as well.

"We've been promoting health and fitness to the children so we've been saying it's really good because he's been looking after himself and being healthy."

Mrs Rowlandson said that Gary was "overwhelmed" at the number of children who were there to cheer him on and the amount of money that had been raised.

She said: "I don't think he realised the magnitude of how big our school actually was. There were over 180 children clapping and waiting for him on the cycle path.

"We just said we'd raise as much as we could. I don't think he was expecting how much we raised. I think for two-year-olds to be getting sponsored for a mile, is really good."

Gary, who has now completed 10 weeks of his epic challenge, said the total raised was a "fantastic amount".

He said: "When I got the email to say how much they'd raised, I was thinking, 'I wonder if they've missed a decimal point out'. I was blown away by the amount. It's massive.

"When you think about the people who will benefit from that money, it's great."

Gary also praised the children for coming out to support him.

"I didn't realise how big the school is and how many pupils there are," he said. "When I got there, there was 180 outside with placards and they were all cheering. They were brilliant.

"When I ran round the yard with them, they were really enthusiastic and their friends were cheering them on. It was great.

"I wish more schools would participate and the children could see that exercise is fun and the health benefits are enormous.

"When they've done a bit of fundraising, it also gives them the opportunity to understand how the money is spent and develop them into better people.

"If we start that when they're young, they can take that through to the rest of their life. For children to understand how their fundraising is helping people who are poorly, is quite powerful."

Support Gary’s fundraising efforts by donating at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/threesixfive