ALMOST 500 children and young adults laced up their running shoes and put their best foot forward for the annual May Mile at the weekend.

Held in the playing fields of Sheldon and Hardenhuish schools on Sunday, the event is solely for youngsters allowing them to take part in different age categories ranging from Under 7s to Under 17s.

“It was outstanding, we broke more records and had even more runners than ever before,” said founder of the event, Zoe Rucker, who works in learning support at Sheldon School.

“We had some fantastic and really nice comments this year which just summed up the event.

“It’s become a bit of a day out which means that it’s very much become community based.

“It’s something that people were looking forward to.

“This year our youngest runner was one-years-old and we raised £3,000 which is more than we have every done before.”

A new record was set in the Under 15s Girl’s race with India Ibbotson setting a 5min 52sec time, and the fastest time for the day went to Niall Thorne in the Under 17s Boy's race with a 5min 19sec.

As well as the running events there was also a BBQ, inflatable obstacle course and live entertainment.

Half the money from the event will go towards Youth Action Wiltshire (YAW) with the remaining money going towards Field Athletics Fest (FAF).

The inaugural event will take place on July 10 and allow children to take part in different athletic events.

For more information visit www.maymile.co.uk/faf