THOUSANDS of runners of all ages and abilities will be preparing for the Yorkshire Marathon Festival tomorrow (October 16).

The event includes the Yorkshire Marathon, Yorkshire 10 Mile, which in particular has proven popular since its launch in 2015, and Yorkshire Marathon Relay to cater to all abilities.

Tristan Batley-Kyle, Operations Director, at Jane Tomlinson’s Run For All, race organiser, said: "This year’s Yorkshire Marathon Festival is set to be a fantastic day of running, fundraising and celebrations in the city of York.

"The festival has grown into a major event on the running calendar, attracting runners from both home and abroad whilst raising funds for some excellent local charities.

"There’s always a tremendous atmosphere on the day. The people of the city always come out in full force to support the runners as they make it around the course and our fantastic marshals and volunteers help make the event an unforgettable experience for those taking part.

"We are enormously grateful to everyone who turns out to support the Yorkshire Marathon and make it such a success.”

The 26-mile Yorkshire Marathon starts at 9.30am on University Road, and runners will follow a route that takes them through the city centre, passing through the Walls, Stockton on the Forest, Grange Wood, Upper Helmsley, Stamford Bridge, Gate Helmsley, Turkers Wood, Murton, Osbaldwick and back towards Heslington.

The Yorkshire 10-mile then starts at 10.15am, followed by the Yorkshire Marathon Relay.

The relay splits the 26.2 miles into six legs of between three and six miles, making it accessible to runners of all abilities. 

The event is brought by Jane Tomlinson's Run For All, the group behind the Run For All’s popular 10K series, the half marathons in Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Derby, Ipswich and Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon.

Jane Tomlinson raised almost £2 million for charity by tackling a series of epic challenges including cycling for over 4,000 miles across America, despite being diagnosed with incurable cancer.

The Yorkshire Marathon Festival is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for charities including its official partners - the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, Macmillan Cancer Support, St Gemma's, Candlelighters, St Leonard’s Hospice, The Children’s Hospital Charity and Alzheimer’s Society.

The runners will be joined by GB Paralympian, Hannah Cockcroft OBE and comedian Rob Deering, plus a competitive field of elite athletes who will be completing for cash prizes.

This year’s event is supported by York Press, City of York Council, BBC Radio York, University of York, Coopah Running, Arla Protein, High5, Erdinger, Gopuff, Marathon Photos, Regen Physio, Shokz, Up & Running, Water In A Box, and the Yorkshire Society.

Entries to the Yorkshire 10 Mile are still open, sign-up and check the route here.

 For more information, go to www.runforall.com.