RUNNERS taking part in this year’s MBNA Chester Marathon are expected to raise an anticipated half a million pounds for charitable causes this year.

Race organiser Chris Hulse from Active Leisure Events, revealed the 1,000 runners in last year’s inaugural marathon helped raise around £100,000 for charities across the region.

With around 3,000 extra runners expected to take part in this year’s race on October 9, the hope is that figure could reach closer to £500,000.

Chris said: “One of the central aims of the MBNA Chester Marathon is to support local communities and charities.

“Following last year’s race, a follow up survey compiled by Manchester Metropolitan University revealed that almost £100,000 had been raised for charity which was a great achievement.

“This year’s marathon will be significantly bigger with thousands more runners and using a projected forecast from the original statistics, I’m confident we can boost this figure dramatically.”

The two main race charities for 2011 are the Hospice of the Good Shepherd which is just outside of Chester and Claire House Children’s Hospice in Bebington.

Other associated charities set to benefit from this year’s marathon include Nightingale House Hospice in Wrexham, Age UK Cheshire and Cancer Research UK.

Chris added: “One of the other unique elements about the MBNA Chester Marathon compared to other major UK mass participation races is that we take no money from charities who wish to enter runners.

“We only require their runners to pay the standard race entry fee. We’re passionate about ensuring we maximise the benefits this race will bring to these charities and this is just one of the ways we are trying to achieve it.”

Runners have also been encouraged to share the various charities they are supporting when registering through the website www.chestermarathon.co.uk. Currently, there are more than 25 different organisations affiliated to different runners on the website.

John Greaves, communication executive for MBNA, said: “Events like this offer a great opportunity for people to raise money for some tremendous causes in our region and further afield.

“The fact that community support like this is at the heart of the MBNA Chester Marathon is one of the reasons we are delighted to be supporting it again this year.”

For more information about the MBNA Chester Marathon, visit www.chestermarathon.co.uk