MORE than £65,000 has been raised by runners who took part in this year’s Colchester Half Marathon.

The ninth year of the Griffin Chapman Colchester Half Marathon saw thousands of runners conquer the 13.1mile route around town.

Since the race in March organisers have been counting up cash raised and were thrilled to announce a staggering total of £65,000.

The funds will be shared between two charities, MS-UK and Headway Essex.

MS-UK is receiving 75 per cent and Headway Essex will get the remaining 25 per cent.

Jill Purcell from the main beneficiary of this year’s race, MS-UK, said the money would go towards supporting people with Multiple Sclerosis.

She said: “We are delighted to receive such a fantastic sum of money raised from the event.

“The amount is equivalent to MS-UK being able to provide specialised supervised exercise sessions to more than 50 clients for a whole year at Josephs Court, our wellness centre in Colchester.

“It is always a great event which significantly benefits the community too.”

The rest of the cash will go to Headway Essex, a charity based in Colchester which supports people with an acquired brain injury.

Race director Dan Aldworth said the event, which has grown in popularity each year, was the best yet.

This year about 4,000 people took part.

He said: “The amount of organisation necessary to ensure this event runs smoothly every year is huge and thanks really must go out to the committee members, Colchester Colne Round Table, all the hundreds of people who volunteer on the day and of course, the sponsors.

“Each year we try to build on our previous successes.

“Last year, Porsche Centre Colchester supplied the lead vehicles which worked really well and so we were really pleased they returned to build the atmosphere at the start of the race.

“This year we also wanted to improve our environmental impact, which is why Green Recycling came on board and assisted us with the 13,000 water bottles that needed recycling.”

Next year’s event has already had its date confirmed for Sunday, March 29, and entries will open soon.

Dan said he has high hopes for 2020, which marks a decade since the first half marathon in Colchester.

He added: “This will be our 10th year anniversary and we want to pull out all the stops to make sure it is a community event to be proud of and ensure it can continue for many years to come.”

In the past the half marathon has supported charities including St Helena Hospice, Robin Cancer Trust, Tom Bowdidge Foundation and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.

To keep updated about next year’s race visit www.colchesterhalfmarathon.co.uk.