EAST Renfrewshire school pupils and residents have been clocking up the miles in a virtual challenge that takes them all the way to Tokyo and back.

The fun event has been organised by East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure’s Active Schools team, with locals asked to walk, cycle or run a combined total of 5,768 miles – equivalent to the distance between Barrhead and the host city for this summer's Olympic Games.

This was achieved within 14 days and now a new challenge has been set to to make the return journey back to East Renfrewshire, with participants aiming to beat their two-week record.

Gary McGunnigle, Active Schools team leader, told the Barrhead News: “Our Tokyo challenge is a great way to encourage everyone in the community to get active and spend more time outdoors.

“The uptake from local schools and residents has been fantastic and the number of people taking part is increasing daily.

"The response has been so good that the journey to Tokyo was completed in 14 days. The Active Schools team have now set the challenge of returning back to East Renfrewshire in under 14 days."

A total of 160 people have signed up for the challenge so far – and locals can still join the team via the free Strava app to support schools as they strive to reach their goal.

Kerry Comerford, a co-ordinator with the Active Schools team, said: “We started the challenge in the middle of February and invited our local schools to sign up, as well as parents of pupils, families, teachers and anyone else in the local community who would like to take part.

“It gives everyone involved a focus and collective achievement.

"East Renfrewshire Culture and Leisure staff have also been getting involved and clocking up the miles to help reach our target and it's been great to work together virtually towards a shared goal.

“We were delighted to get to Toyko virtually in 14 days and are looking forward to seeing if we can beat this on the way home."

For more details or to sign up, visit www.strava.com and search for 'Active East Renfrewshire.' Those who are aged under 16 can ask a family member to sign up and then take part together.

Anyone who would like to keep up to date with the Active Schools team's progress can follow them on Twitter @ERCL4 and ActiveSchoolsER.