Blue Peter presenters Radzi Chinyanganya and Lindsey Russell are donning their trainers and taking on their very own Mile-a-thon challenge for Sport Relief 2018, running 26 individual miles with children from 26 different schools across the country.

Over the course of four days, this fun-filled challenge sees Blue Peter dash through locations such Much Wenlock, Wolverhampton, to visit Radzi’s old primary school, the city of Coventry and Sir Roger Bannister’s famous running track at Oxford University. They will be joined by local children and some familiar CBBC faces along the way!

Blue Peter is also asking children from across the UK to support the challenge by completing their very own mile. Participants can run, walk, wheel or scoot their way through their mile and record their efforts on the Blue Peter website which will be added up and converted into steps with the final total being revealed live on Blue Peter’s Sport Relief special on 22 March on CBBC. The programme is attempting to achieve over 1 million steps.

Lindsey Russell says: “The Mile-a-thon Challenge is going to be a really fun way for Radzi and me and all the schools involved to get active and do our bit for Sport Relief. What is even better is that children from all over the country can get involved so it will feel like we are one big team.”

Radzi Chinyanganya says: “Having just arrived back from Pyeongchang after a fantastic Winter Olympics, to be already signing up to this new challenge is exciting to say the least! I can’t wait for Blue Peter to get on the road and meet all the schools involved for such a great cause.”

The challenge ends in Oxford, where the team will up their mileage to the official marathon distance of 26.2 miles. They will cross the famous Sir Roger Bannister’s finish line where he broke the four-minute mile back in 1954.

Blue Peter’s Sport Relief challenge will air on Thursday 22 March at 5.30pm on CBBC.

Notes to Editors

Sport Relief brings the nation together to get active, raise money and change lives. Since 2002, Sport Relief has raised over £335 million. The money raised by the public will be spent by Comic Relief to tackle the critical issues affecting people across the UK and the world. This year, Sport Relief culminates in a week of activity from Saturday 17 to Friday 23 March, leading to an unmissable night of TV on the BBC.

Comic Relief is a UK charity which aims to create a just world, free from poverty - where everyone is safe, healthy, educated and empowered. Since 1985, Comic Relief has raised over £1 billion. That money has helped, and is helping, people both at home in the UK and across the world. For information about Comic Relief and the work it carries out, please visit Comic Relief, registered charity 326568 (England/Wales); SC039730 (Scotland).

Blue Peter is the longest-running children’s programme in the world and will celebrate its 60th anniversary in October 2018. The programme has a host of special events taking place across the next 8 months to honour the occasion including the annual Book Awards, a new time capsule and the launch of a new Diamond Blue Peter badge.