Organisers of the Ealing Half Marathon, which takes place for the second time on Sunday 29th September 2013, have announced the launch of a new charity structure.

After a huge success of the inaugural race with all 4,650 race places sold out, the charity structure has been introduced in order to give charities of all sizes the opportunity to get involved in a major London sporting event and to give them a vital platform for fundraising.

The organisers have also taken the decision to not increase the entry fees for charity places but to sell them at the standard entry cost of £34, which also includes a medal for every finisher.

Epilepsy Action has been confirmed as Headline Charity for 2013, and 3 further charity partnership levels called Lammas, Walpole and Bunny have been launched, named after the picturesque park sections of the course. The charity partnerships offer various levels of branding, visibility and support depending on how many places are purchased. Please go to the charity page on the website http://www.ealinghalfmarathon.com/charity-information for further information.

Ealing Half Marathon race director Kelvin Walker said: “We are proud to announce that we are opening up the Ealing Half Marathon to charities this year, supporting charities of all sizes with a great fundraising initiative that will allow them to raise sustainable funds in support of their causes.

“The Ealing Half Marathon 2012 was a great success with over £150,000 raised by runners for their chosen charities, and I am confident that we can take that to a new level this year with the new charity structure in place. Charities can buy from as little as 5 places to get visibility and any unsold charity places can be rolled over to the following year, there really is no reason not to get involved!” 

The race will start and finish in Lammas Park with the race, retail and charity village at its heart. Organisers have confirmed that some improvements have been made to the route that will have less impact on residents and will encompass additional parks within the borough. The Ealing Half Marathon is one of only two half marathons in London on fully closed roads, making it a must-do in the running calendar.

The 13.1 miles will be run in a single lap, taking in parts of Central Ealing, Montpelier, Pitshanger, West Ealing, Hanwell and St Stephens before returning to Lammas Park via Walpole Park. Runners are guaranteed to get the ‘Ealing feeling’ with the local communities reflecting Ealing’s great spirit and showing strong support for the race, which was introduced in the Olympic year in order to bring a fantastic mass participation sporting event to the Borough that would be a legacy to the Games.

Please go to www.ealinghalfmarathon.com for further race details, you can also join the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ealinghalf and follow @EalingHalf on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news about the Ealing Half Marathon.