In the spring of 2005, thousands of families across the UK took part in the Flora Family Marathon, which helped families to get active and raise their fitness level while raising money for charity. This was a marathon with a difference – you didn’t run it on your own, but shared the distance between members of your family, so everyone could do their bit!
Encouraging families to share a healthy lifestyle
Being fit helps improve your energy levels and muscle tone, controls your weight and helps keep your heart and lungs healthy. Everyone’s different, so we designed the Flora Family Marathon for up to 6 family members of any fitness level, from 5 to 95. A marathon is 26.2 miles and that's how far each family had to run. They divided the first 25.2 miles between them equally and took to the streets over a 5-week period, then ran the final mile together on Sunday 17 April 2005.
Advice on everyday exercise and healthy eating
Each family who registered could log onto their Family Homepage to record their progress online. They chose from different 28-day training plans selected to suit each age and fitness level. They also got Starter Parks with fitness advice, suggestions to help incorporate exercise into their everyday lifestyle, information about healthy eating and its benefits, and the Flora Family Marathon pedometer.
Each time a family member went for a run, they strapped the pedometer to their waistband to record the distance they covered, then added this figure to their total on the Family Homepage. If one family member wanted to run an extra mile on someone else's behalf, no problem – they just added it to that person’s total on the tracking page.
Celebrity Families shared their progress
We also invited celebrity families to take part, including the Gordon Ramsay Family, the Sir Steve Redgrave Family, the Lorraine Kelly Family and the Blazin’ Squad Family. Their Family Homepages could be seen online, and they kept all the marathon participants up to date on their progress throughout the marathon by email or SMS.
The big day
Then, on Sunday 17 April, all our families ran their final mile and crossed the finish line together. Family members across the country proudly handed medals to their teammates as they completed their marathons. Our Celebrity Families and ten Flora families finished theirs in style on the London Marathon circuit.
Family fun and fitness
The Flora Family Marathon helped families to get active and think about keeping fit – to help keep everything flowing like it should.
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