Organisers of Market Drayton 10K still reeling from success as 2023 race oversubscribed

The Market Drayton 10K, held at the beginning of this month, saw more than 1,800 runners take part – many of whom came from a surge of late entries.

Matthew Costello won the race this year with a time of 32 minutes 25 seconds, while the first woman back was Donna Sherwin in a time of 37 minutes 16 seconds.

But hundreds of runners lost out as they'd left it too late to enter.

Tim Beckett, organiser of the event said: "We were so frustrated because we could have sold over 2,000 tickets in the end but unfortunately I had to turn people away."

The reason being that goody bags, medals and T-shirts – which runners get at the finish line – are all bought in advance to ensure that no one goes home empty handed.

This year, the goody bag included sausage rolls, pies, gingerbread and a pack of 10 Muller Frijj which are donated by sponsors of the race.

For 2024, organisers are offering more flexibility with entries, so if runners do decide to enter late then they can do so at a discounted price but without the T-shirt.

"What we have done this year is we have set it up so you can still have the option of a medal, a T-shirt and a goody bag, but from March onwards you can have a cheaper entry without the goodies," Tim added.

Around 700 people have already signed up for next year's event and runners are still being encouraged to get their entries in early to avoid any disappointment.

Entries are open and people can sign up by going to marketdraytonrunningclub.com