DW Fitness First Launches new campaign at Belfast International

DW Fitness First launches new campaign designed to get Belfast’s families more active together.

• The School Run event will be hosted at Belfast’s Mary Peters Track on Tuesday 26^th June at 5.30pm
• Local athletes, Leon Reid and Ciara Mageean, will be at the Stadium and part of the crowd encouraging children to keep fit
• The campaign is being helmed by Una Healy and Ben Foden, who have created a guide to family fitness

On Tuesday 26^th June, at 5.30pm, nearly 100 children have signed up to take part in 60m and 1000m Primary School Races, celebrating the distances they take to their school. 200m Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Leon Reid and 2016 European Championship 1500m bronze medallist, Ciara Mageean will join the runs and encourage children and parents alike to keep fit.

Schools taking part in the run include Fairhill PS; Ballyholme Primary; Kings Park; Moneyrea Primary School; St Comgall’s Primary, St Colman’s Ps, Banbridge; Spa Primary School; St Joseph’s Primary, Carryduff; Roan St Patrick’s Primary, Derry; Moira Primary School; St Patrick’s Eskra; St Joseph Primary School and Nursery Unit; Lough View Integrated Primary; Stranmillis Ps; DH Christie Memorial; Good Shepherd PS; Bocombra Primary; Cavehill Primary School; Antrim PS; Millington Primary; Inchmarlo Prep; St Patricks and St Joseph’s; Tannaghmore Primary; St Brigid’s Primary; Ballougry Primary; Armagh AC; Cedar Primary; Banbridge AC; St Anne’s AC; North Down AC; Loughview AC; Carrickmannon Primary; Orangegrove AC; Dromore AC; Newcastle & District AC; East Down AC; 3 Ways AC; North Belfast Harriers; City of Lisburn and Ballymena & Antrim.

The School Run- launched by gym operator and sports retailer DW Fitness First – encourages parents to get active with their children and run their route to school. The initiative was launched after research revealed that more than four out of five parents in Belfast lose up to five hours of exercise a week after having children, and gain an average of 1.5 stone.

Fronted by famous family Una and Ben Foden, DW Fitness First has also launched a new family fitness guide, with a selection of exercise routines designed to keep kids entertained and get the whole family moving in sync. The carefully devised exercise plan is specifically aimed at helping time poor parents combine workouts with their everyday routine, turning the school run into an enjoyable family training session.

Built around a child’s natural behaviour, it allows for their stop start movements and short attention spans providing parents with an easy solution to keeping active.

Designed by Tim Andrews, DW Fitness First’s Head of Gym Floor Experience, the new exercise plan aims, for the first time, to help parents work out around and with their children’s routines, especially the school run. 

The School Run campaign and exercise plan complements DW Fitness First’s vision to create an active nation and provides encouragement to both sporty parents and those just looking to move a little more. Aiming to create an ecosystem of exercise, DW Fitness First is now the official retail and fitness partner of the UK’s 4 National Governing Bodies of athletics and running (England Athletics, Scottish Athletics, Athletics Northern Ireland and Welsh Athletics). With the primary focus of running, DW Fitness First is working with top running athletes and has become the lead partner of RunTogether, Jog Scotland and Run Wales - successfully motivating thousands of new and enthusiastic runners to join their local running group.

Lee Pinnington, DW Fitness First Marketing Director commented: "Juggling parenthood with keeping the whole family fit and healthy is tough.  This survey shows that while parents want to stay fit, they find it difficult because of the demands of having children. In reality parents often spend significantly less time exercising after having children and that can also lead to them putting on weight.

“We are delighted to team up with the UK’s 4 National Governing Bodies of athletics and running to motivate parents get back on track, we want to support them on their exercise journey.

“Families that run together, stay fit together.”

Tim Andrews, from DW Fitness First said: “Children are great but they can cause havoc on your workout routine.  I have kids and I know how hard it is.  We have devised this fitness regime to help and hope it can contribute to keeping the nation fit and healthy. The school run is just one example of where you can fit in exercise, you just need to make sure invest a little more time into organisation for a whole load of reward.  There are lots of other activities with your kids where you could squeeze in a little workout that benefits both you and them.”

Ben Foden commented: "Even as a rugby player, you notice how hard it is to maintain an exercise regime when you become a parent.  It must be incredibly difficult when exercise is not part and parcel of your job.

“Una and I find it challenging to exercise as a family, but we still believe there is a way to do it, and it is definitely worth it.  This workout has really helped us fit exercise around our daily lives with Aoife and Tadhg."

“It's great that DW Fitness First and the UK's 4 National Governing Bodies of Athletics and Running have teamed up together to help busy parents incorporate exercise into their lives.  During School Week parents and children can join us to run their School Run.

“Alternatively, parents can download our free family workout to have a go at home.” 

For more information visit www.dwfitnessfirst.com/schoolrun

For more information, please contact the DW team at Mission: dw@thisismission.com or 020 7845 7800