The biggest ever Milton Keynes Marathon takes place this Bank Holiday weekend and preparations have been made for an army of 10,000 runners to pound the streets.
Those not participating are being invited to line the route and cheer on the runners.
Organisers said they were stunned by the number of participants with most of the five events which make up the Marathon Weekend selling out before entries closed this week.
Several hundred runners applied unsuccessfully for the BMI Saxon Clinic Marathon Relay after all the places were filled and there were record numbers of entries for the Marathon and Half Marathon.
Event director Andy Hully said: “2017 is a very special year for the Milton Keynes Marathon because we’re honoured to be one of the flagship events of the MK50 celebrations. It’s fantastic that so many runners will be joining us and it will really show everyone what an amazing place MK is as they run through the countryside before the famous stadium finish.”
The event will mean a number of roads will be closed or have restrictions imposed on Sunday and Monday to ensure the safety of runners and organisers apologised for any inconvenience this will cause.
Drivers can ring the event traffic hotline for updates on 0845 387 1685.
There will be plenty of family fun all day on Monday at Stadium MK in the new Race Village which will feature a live DJ, music and entertainment plus kids’ inflatables, a climbing wall, bungee trampolines, bumper cars and bouncy castles.
The new official AIMS/IAAF Grade A certified marathon route has been designed to pass through the most picturesque parts of Milton Keynes and takes in the countryside and parks of the Ousel Valley, Bradwell Abbey, Woolstone and Milton Keynes Village as well as landmarks such as the Peace Pagoda at Willen Lake and of course, the concrete cows.
A host of local and national charities are set to benefit from Milton Keynes Marathon with runners raising funds for Gold charity partners Macmillan Cancer Support and Harry’s Rainbow plus other good causes including the Henry Allen Trust, MK Dons SET, MK Hospital charity, Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity, MK Gallery, Thomas Cook Children’s Charity, St Francis Children’s Society, MacIntyre and MedicAlert.
