Members of the WEA Community Fitness Group, in Stoke, have taken part in the fifth annual Potters' Arf marathon after completing a thirteen week fitness course. The students along with four lifestyle coaches, from Stoke-on-Trent City Council joined 2,000 other runners on the 13.1 mile course on Sunday 14 June.

Participants on the course were all women, mainly over the age of fifty and attended the classes, based in Longton and Tunstall, to improve their fitness and prepare for the race. Due to the slightly steep route on the run students were assigned specific three mile sections which reflect their personal ability and completed the race in five relay teams. Runners at the event also raised money for charity including Cancer Research UK. Retired licensee Kathleen Cooke, from Burslem, has been attending classes for two years and ran the first leg of the relay. Kathleen said: "I got talked into it by my colleagues and I feel very happy that I was well enough to do it and that I did it for a lot of family and friends who have lost people."

As well as attending their classes in dance and fitness, the students met at an additional weekly session to learn about running and stretching. Participants also formed their own training routines with the help of fitness instructor Rachel Trpeski, who runs groups for the WEA. Rachel, who completed the whole Potters 'Arf marathon, said: "It was about really encouraging people to get out there walking and running, so we did a class to see how much interest there was. We were initially looking at doing one team, but we had that many people that we ended up with five, which is brilliant."

WEA Health Education Project manager Clare White said: "It has been brilliant and I think confidence has been raised. At the beginning, we had people who didn't really know what they were going to be able to do. For people of 64 or 65 to run three miles is an amazing achievement."

You can find out more information at the WEA West Midlands website, just click here.