2,500 runners on marks for Shrewsbury's marathon
About 2,500 runners have now signed up to take part in Shrewsbury's inaugural marathon next month, organisers have announced.
Final preparations are taking place for the first- marathon and half-marathon on June 23.
Organisers In the Running, a Market Drayton-based company, had needed 500 runners to sign up to make the event viable, but have ended up with five times that number.
David Downes, director of In the Running, said the response had been fantastic, with mainly local runners due to take part.
"About 2,500 are signed up, with people coming from all over the country but most of the runners are from Shrewsbury," he said.
About two-thirds of those taking part had opted to run the half marathon rather than the full distance.
The race will start from the Statue of Hercules in The Quarry before snaking around the town centre via Smithfield Road, Castle Street, The Square and Town Walls.
It will continue through Longden Coleham and Kingsland before returning to the finish line in The Quarry, with four laps of the course due to be completed by runners. Water stations will be set up every two miles. The course will be fully closed with local firm Traffix providing traffic management.
All runners will receive a medal and T-shirt for taking part.
Crowds are expected to line the streets along the route with live music planned as part of the event.
Shrewsbury Brass Band will be playing in The Quarry, while there will be additional music in The Square.
Radio Shropshire DJ Paul Shuttleworth will compere the event.
Mr Downes has previously said that he hoped Shrewsbury's marathon would become an annual event, competing with big city races such as the one held in Edinburgh, which attracts about 10,000 runners each year.
He said the Edinburgh Marathon ha 2,700 runners when it was first held 10 years ago but has grown in size since then.