Published: 3 November, 2011
by MARIA VALLAHIS

A CAMPAIGN to get more youngsters running, jumping and throwing proved it really is on the right track on Sunday as more than 80 children joined in an action-packed day at Parliament Hill Fields.

Quad Kids is a monthly event aimed at encouraging children to become more active by taking part in a fun athletics day, featuring a host of track and field events like the long jump, the 75m sprint and the 600m.

Harry Murray-Palmer, 4, certainly seemed to be enjoying himself as he revealed “energy, bones and brains” make him run faster.

Run by coaches from the Highgate Harriers Athletics Club, parents and volunteers, the event is designed in such a way that the children compete against themselves.

They collect points which make up their “Quad Kids Score” and they attempt to beat their score from previous months instead of going head-to-head against each other.  

Newcomer Barnaby Lee, 9, wasted little time entering into the spirit of competition, saying: “I could have done better but I didn’t jump far.

“It’s my first time here. I needed to push off better.”