AN extra 1,000 runners will be able to take part in next year’s Colchester Half Marathon.

This year’s event, which took place last month, was the most successful yet.

Fundraising also hit a record as organisers revealed it raised £65,000 to be shared between Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, and MS-UK.

Staff at the air ambulance said they will receive 75 per cent of the funds, which will pay for 20 missions, and potentially save 20 lives.

Event organiser Liam Austin was thrilled with the outcome.

He said: “This is a record for fundraising, we beat our previous total by £5,000 even though we heavily invested in the event this year.

“We updated the website and reviewed all of our safety and we put up more signage.

“It was a really great event and I’m feeling ecstatic.”

The 25 per cent of funds raised will go to MS-UK so it can continue its valuable research.

This total did not include the hundreds of thousands of pounds raised through private sponsorship.

Mr Austin added: “All the work this year has made a huge difference, the feedback has been so positive.

“There is a lot of work for everybody involved but the rewards we get through the kind feedback are amazing.”

The first meeting for next year’s race will be held on May 1.

Staff will discuss how the capacity can be increased, following on from five star ratings given this year.

Mr Austin added: “The main changes have been made already but we have been told by UK Athletics that we can increase the capacity from 4,000 people to 5,000.

“They gave us a glowing report after this year’s event.”

About 4,000 took part in the 13 mile run this year. It was the biggest ever turn out.

Ramadan Osman was the first at the finish line in an impressive time of hour and nine minutes.

The organisers added: “A massive thanks to everyone involved in making this happen.

“This money will make a massive difference to both charities and in turn the community.”

They presented cheques to both charities who were extremely grateful for the donations.

To find out more follow Colchester Half Marathon on Facebook or visit www.colchesterhalfmarathon.co.uk.