Worcester family will run with Paula Radcliffe for 'Families on Track'

Chris Jenkinson and his sons Thomas and Joseph have been picked as winners in the Families on Track competition.

The competition, running alongside this weekend's Worcester City Runs, gives family groups the opportunity to complete a 10K distance in a continuous relay in laps of either 1,000m, 500m or 250m, in a safe setting and format that allows everyone to contribute, no matter what their age or ability.

As winners, Chris and his boys will join Team Radcliffe, running alongside the Team GB runner on September 3.

Speaking after finding out he won, the 39-year-old said: "We were all born in Worcester and have lived in Worcester all of our lives.

"We all enjoy taking part in physical activity and love being active.

"Thomas (aged 7) and Joseph (aged 5) already play lots of different sports, including; swimming, gymnastics, football, golf and tennis, but they both particularly enjoy running."

ACTIVE: Chris and the boys running with mum Laura

The team would also have included mum Laura, but she is unavailable for the day, although Paula Radcliffe makes for a more than adequate replacement.

Chris added: "Laura is a professional photographer and has been booked for a long time to photograph a wedding this Saturday, unfortunately, so it will just be myself, Thomas and Joseph running in the Families on Track race on Saturday.

"However, we’re hoping that by replacing Laura with world record marathon holder Paula Radcliffe that we will hopefully do quite well, despite the boys’ young ages.

READ MORE: All you need to know ahead of Worcester City Runs

"Laura and I have been taking Thomas and Joseph to Marathon Kids running club for over three years now. 

"They run around 3.5km every Saturday morning and in this time Joseph has run the combined distance of seven marathons and Thomas has run the combined distance of eight marathons.

"Thomas actually won a national award from Marathon Kids earlier this year for being the child that has run the furthest distance overall.

"So as you can tell, they’re very keen runners and we are all extremely excited about being able to run with Paula on Saturday."

Tuesday’s Worcester News will include a special 8-page Worcester Run supplement - containing all the runners and their times and pictures from the event.