Olympic silver medallist Colin Jackson and Blue Peter presenter Helen Skelton have visited Gateshead to launch the Tesco Great School Run.
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They arrived at the International Stadium via helicopter before cheering on local school children as they completed a 2km run.
The Tesco Great School Run is now in its eighth year and will see more than 1.25m school children complete 2km runs around the country from May 8 until July 23.
The aim is to encourage children to take up sport and become fitter and healthier.
Helen Skelton sad: "The Tesco Great School Run is a great way to get children excited about running and enjoying sports.
"It's fantastic to be involved and to see so many children from the local area coming together and taking part in the fun run."
Colin Jackson added: “We really need to annihilate, as quickly as we can, that obesity problem that we’re suffering here in the UK.
“We can be the fittest nation in Europe, not the fattest one.”
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