Archie wins Shakespeare medal race

FINISHERS of the 38th Stratford-upon-Avon Rotary Club’s Shakespeare Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday will be presented with a medal designed by Archie Marson-Bacon, a year seven student at KES.

And among the people who Archie will present his medals to will be his dad, Colin, who promised that he would take part in the race if his son won the medal competition.

Archie’s design was chosen out of 200 submitted to Stratford Rotary’s Medal Design competition.

Students were given the criteria of including the Rotary Club’s 90th anniversary, and adding an image or text that they believed best represented Rotary, the marathon or the town of Stratford.

Ian Reid, who president of Stratford Rotary Club, which organises the marathon and half marathon, said: “This year, Rotary celebrates 90 years since its formation in the town, and as the marathon is our biggest fundraising event, we thought it would be great to do something special to commemorate our birthday.

"The competition was successful, we had so many entries and such a high standard of designs, it was difficult to choose.

"Archie’s medal is truly outstanding and we are delighted to showcase his talent at The Shakespeare Marathon.”

Thousands of runners are due to take place part in this year’s marathon, which involves almost all of the club’s 70 members, with Samantha Wheeler becoming the first woman to take the reigns as race director.

World record breaking multi-marathon runner, Steve Edwards, will star the marathon before running it for the 21st time, while this year’s charities include The Shakespeare Hospice, Stratford Samaritans, Lifespace Trust and ESH Works.