A new half marathon, the Great East Run Ipswich, is set to launch in Suffolk this year, attracting thousands of runners to the town.
In a major coup for the town, the Great East Run Ipswich will bring elite athletes as well as charity runners to Ipswich on Sunday, September 24.
The 13.1 mile course is set to start close to Portman Road football stadium, the home of Ipswich Town. It will then travel through the town centre area, around the Willis building, and along the Waterfront, before heading out through Wherstead, against the backdrop of the Orwell Bridge, and through to the outskirts of Woolverstone.
It then heads back along Wherstead Road into Ipswich before finishing back near to the Portman Road football stadium.
The route will be seen by experienced runners as a largely flat route, taking in some picturesque views and key landmarks of the town and surrounding areas.
• See why runner Brad Jones believes the Great East Run Ipswich is such great news for the town here
The event is being launched at Suffolk County Council headquarters this morning, and will be backed by Team GB Olympian Andy Vernon, who competed in the 10,000m at the Rio Olympics last summer.
Ipswich is enjoying a rise in the number of successful mass participation running events.
The Ipswich Half Marathon 2016 set an attendance record last September and the second-annual Ipswich Twilight Road Races 2016 also broke various records last August.
The Great North Run in Newcastle has over 50,000 runners each year, while the The Great South Run in Portsmouth attracts over 25,000 runners.
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