The Body Coach Foundation, founded by the nation’s PE teacher and fitness coach Joe Wicks, has been confirmed as the Official Charity Partner of the TCS Mini London Marathon and the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools.
The two-year partnership will see The Body Coach Foundation – the charity arm of The Body Coach – support the ambition to get 50,000 children taking part in the TCS Mini London Marathon and one million children participating in the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools by 2030.
The TCS Mini London Marathon is the biggest, free one-day children’s event in the UK. This year it takes place on Saturday 25 April, with entries already sold out and around 22,000 children aged 4-17 expected to take part in either the one-mile or 2.6K distance around St James’s Park.
The Mini London Marathon has been part of the London Marathon weekend since 1986. From 1986 until 2022 it was an event for young elite athletes only, with the likes of Sir Mo Farah and Keely Hodgkinson as former participants. In 2022, the event was expanded to include all school children. Since then, more than 38,000 children have taken part.
The TCS Mini London Marathon in schools is a virtual two-mile event which allows children to take part in a run based at their school or education setting. The 2026 event began yesterday (Monday 23 February) and will run until Friday 1 May with schools able to sign-up here. Since 2020, more than one million children from across the UK have taken part. A record 2,039 schools registered to complete their own two-mile distance in 2025.
Joe Wicks, Founder of The Body Coach Foundation, said: “I’m incredibly proud that The Body Coach Foundation is partnering with the TCS Mini London Marathon and the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools. I’ve spent years championing the benefits of movement for children’s physical and mental wellbeing, and no event has done more to spark excitement and participation among young people. Encouraging children to be active every day – both in and out of school – is vital, and I believe we can achieve the goal of getting one million children moving by 2030 together.”
Ben Cooper, Event Lead of the TCS Mini London Marathon and TCS Mini London Marathon in schools, said: “We are thrilled to announce The Body Coach Foundation as the TCS Mini London Marathon’s Official Charity Partner. Joe Wicks has dedicated his career to inspiring children to get active and experience the physical and mental benefits of regular movement. Every year the TCS Mini London Marathon and the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools helps hundreds of thousands of children to get moving and, with Joe’s support, we can succeed in our goal to get one million children moving by 2030.”
As part of the new partnership, all schools participating in the TCS Mini London Marathon in schools will receive an activity pack, including games and healthy recipes, created by Joe. Schools will also be awarded a trophy and be entered into a draw to win a visit from Joe himself. Click here to see Joe’s visit to the winning school from the 2025 event.
Joe and The Body Coach Foundation will also be on site at the 2026 TCS Mini London Marathon on Saturday 25 April, with Joe hosting warm-up sessions for the children before they set off.
The partnership marks a major step towards the organiser London Marathon Events’ objective to supporting one million children across the UK to be active by 2030, alongside one of the UK’s most inspirational figures in driving activity. His ‘PE with Joe’ series during the Covid-19 pandemic inspired hundreds of thousands of people to get moving in their living rooms and he has since dedicated his time to improve the fitness of the nation.
Earlier this year, Joe partnered with the UK government to launch a new animated series called Activate, which encourage more young people to lead a healthier lifestyle.
Schools participating in the 2026 TCS Mini London Marathon in schools will receive a toolkit which includes running numbers (just like those people who run the TCS London Marathon) and certificates for everyone taking part. Children can also use the event to fundraise.
The two miles can be done in one day or split over a number of days, per class or as a whole school, and schools registered to take part in The Daily Mile can build the distance into their 15 minutes of daily exercise.
