Youngsters are being encouraged to take part in the Junior & Mini Great Manchester Run in just a couple of weeks time.
The iconic Great Manchester Run will take place on Sunday 22 May, and is set to see tens of thousands of runners from across the region and beyond take to the city’s streets for either a 10k race or a half marathon – but it’s not just the grown-ups that are being encouraged to challenge themselves either, as budding athletes can also get in on the action too.
Returning to The Etihad on Saturday 21 May, the Junior & Mini Great Manchester Run is giving little Mancs the chance to lace up their running shoes and join in.
The Mini run is for dinky dashers aged three-eight over a 1.5k course, while the 2.5k Junior event is for those aged nine-15.
“By popular demand, the Junior and Mini event has moved back to Saturday as a standalone event, meaning that families can make a day of it at the Etihad and care givers still have the chance to take part in the 10K or Half Marathon events on Sunday, explains” Event Manager Sharon Angel.
“It’s never too early to give your kids a taste of that big-event buzz and inspire a lifelong love of being active.”
Youngsters are being encouraged to take part in the 2022 Junior & Mini Great Manchester Run / Credit: Great Manchester Run
She also added there will be “lots to see and do for the whole family.”
With athletics superstars Sir Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan performing official starters duties for the around 1,500 runners expected to take part in the event in just a few weeks time, young people are also being encouraged to “embrace” the city’s worker bee emblem by taking a massive bee themed fancy dress competition on the day.
Some of the youngsters already signed-up to take part in this year’s event will be running for a number of really worthy causes.
Five-year-old Lola Monks from Tottington in Bury will be running for the neonatal unit at Royal Bolton Hospital, as she spent 244 days there after being born 11 weeks premature, and she is now ready to try and give back to those who “helped her survive”.
Lola’s mum Gemma said it’s “a small token of appreciation” and thanks for a debt that can never be truly repaid, and they know the nurses and doctors who cared for Lola would be thrilled and amazed to see her do something like this.
The Junior & Mini Great Manchester Run is returning to The Etihad on Saturday 21 May 2022 / Credit: Great Manchester Run
It’s not just the grown-ups who have the chance to challenge themselves / Credit: Great Manchester Run
Similarly, eight-year-old Alexander Grey from Sale will be running to raise awareness of children just like him who are born with Prader-Willi Syndrome – a complex rare genetic disorder caused by a chromosomal abnormality that results in problems including constant urges to eat, restricted growth, learning difficulties, and decreased muscle tone – and he is hoping to raise money for the Prader-Willi Association UK.
Read more: Water pistols, DJs and an apres-run zone added to Great Manchester Run for 2022
“Alexander has many challenges in his life which he has to overcome on every day basis,” Mum Pavlina explains.
“One of the biggest challenges is the food obsession, as his brain constantly tells him that he feels hungry, and his muscle tone is very poor which makes it very hard for him to exercise and keep up.”
Around 1,500 young people are expected to take part in the event in just a few weeks time / Credit: Great Manchester Run
Fancy it then? There’s still plenty of time to be a part of what is set to be a fun day out for all the family at the Junior & Mini Great Manchester Run.
You can find more information, and stick your little one’s name down here.
Featured Image – Great Manchester Run
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Hit theatre production set at a house party to visit Manchester on UK tour
Daisy Jackson
Alright then, 24 hour party people, we’ve found a theatre production you might like the sound of – it’s called The House Party, and it’s set in (you guessed it) a house party.
This smash hit production by pioneering theatre company Headlong is set to land at HOME in March as part of the arts venue’s 2025 theatre season.
It tells the tale of a wild 18th birthday party, where Christine is trying to pick up the pieces of her best friend, a newly-dumped Julie (who happens to be the birthday girl).
Themes of class, power and privilege are all explored with a raw intensity as the cast on stage plough through shots and dive head-first into a night that will change everything they know.
The House Party, which has received glowing reviews from previous showings, is filled with ‘privilege, desire and destruction’.
When it stops off in Manchester, its cast will include Bridgerton’s Sesley Hope as Christine, Synnøve Karlsen (Miss Austen, Last Night in Soho) as Julie, and Tom Lewis (Gentleman Jack, Patience) as Jon.
The ensemble of Frantic Assembly performers includes Ines Aresti, Oliver Baines, Cal Connor, Micah Corbin-Powell, Rachael Leonce, Jaheem Pinder and Jamie Randall.
The House Party is written by Laura Lomas and is a reimagining of August Strindberg’s Miss Julie for today’s generation.
It’s directed by Headlong’s artistic director Holly Race Roughan, who directed the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world premiere of David Edgar’s major new political play The New Real.
The House Party. Credit: Ikin YumThe production will be at HOME. Credit: Supplied
Movement direction will come from Frantic Assembly’s Scott Graham.
Prior to the UK tour of The House Party, Headlong celebrated its 50 year anniversary, including the hit production of A Raisin in the Sun which played nationwide.
The House Party will be at HOME in Manchester between 25 and 29 March, 2025 – you can get your tickets HERE.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff
Daisy Jackson
If you’re not a handy person, when something breaks, the temptation is often to abandon or bin it straight away.
But that’s just not how we’re gonna do it here in Greater Manchester any more, with the return of the annual Repair Week to help you learn valuable repair skills and save money at the same time.
Whether it’s tinkering with your bicycle, fixing up your small tech items, or having your furniture re-varnished and upcycled, there are so many places and people who are on a mission to help you fall back in love with your belongings.
There are even workshops to help you put flat-pack furniture together.
Taking place between 3 and 9 March, Repair Week will be the chance to learn skills, fix your stuff, gain repair confidence and find local fixers.
Events throughout the week (and beyond) will be hosted by community groups, businesses and plenty more.
You can sharpen knives, fix zips, and un-wobble chairs with a little hand from local repair heroes.
JillyGDesign Jewellery in Heaton Moor will fix up your sentimental and special jewellery items, while Rag Revival will help you turn unusable textiles into new creations with basic sewing skills.
There are repair cafes popping up all over Greater Manchester where you can take your belongings.
Greater Manchester’s annual Repair Week is back to make you fall back in love with your stuff. Credit: Supplied
Repair Week will highlight schemes like the Manchester Library of Things, where you can borrow the tools and equipment you need for those repair jobs at home.
During the week you’ll also be able to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the incredible Renew Hub, the UK’s biggest reuse hub, where donated items are brought back to life.
Similarly, you’ll be able to get inside the textile recycling centre run by homelessness charity Emmaus Bolton, where you can choose your own fabric from the scrap store and turn it into a very handy draught excluder to keep costs down and your heat in.
Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Repair Week will take place between 3 and 9 March, with workshops, events and resources to help you revive your belongings.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd May 2022 
