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'Couch-potato' cabbies lured out for run by 2012 campaign
Matthew Beard, Olympics Editor24 Aug 2009
With their long hours behind the wheel and penchant for fry-ups, London cabbies are reputed to be among the capital's unhealthiest workers.
But next month scores will pull on running shoes as the latest conscripts in the national effort to make Britain more active before the Olympics.
The taxi drivers will take part in the five-kilometre Cabbies On The Run at Hackney Marshes on 12September. The race, open to all, is one of the Olympic-themed events organised by the three2go campaign, which seeks to boost community sports.
Cabbies are among the target groups as it tackles couch-potato syndrome in the capital, where only one in five adults participates regularly in sport.
This year's events also include a one-kilometre run at Hackney Marshes and a cross-country marathon - from Ware to the East End. The Licensed Taxi Drivers Association is urging its 20,000 members to take up the challenge.
One driver, Mary Clarke, 38, from Hackney, said: "The nearest most get to sport is listening to football phone-ins."
Fellow cabbie Martin Leate, 49, from Greenwich, said: "We are having to work longer to earn the same money. A run makes a huge difference."
