Town warms up for 42nd half marathon

Ten thousand runners are expected to run the Reading half marathon on Sunday

Road closures will be in place this weekend as 10,000 runners compete in the annual Reading Half Marathon.

The 42nd edition of the event will start at Green Park, on Longwater Avenue, at 10:15 BST on Sunday.

The 13.1 mile (21km) race includes the centre of Reading, the university campus and will finish at the Madejski Stadium.

Some roads will be closed from 17:00 on Saturday and motorists have been warned to avoid junction 11 of the M4.

The 13.1 mile (21km) race will start at Green Park and end at the Madejski Stadium

Runner Chris Withers said he has run the half marathon a “few times”.

“It’s such a big run in Reading, but the stadium finish makes it my favourite because it’s a great atmosphere,” he said.

Mr Withers is taking part in a charity challenge for Dementia UK to run 16 races in 16 months, and will also be running the London marathon next weekend.

Runner Marie Gratton is running her fourth Reading half marathon with her running group.

She said the crowd "definitely get you round, it’s a real buzz throughout the whole of the race".

The event is expected to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for a variety of charities

Organiser Judith Manson said: “Finishing inside the football stadium to the roar of the crowd is unbelievable and something you don’t get at every race.

“Once the runners have gone through an area and we’ve cleared that area, we open it as quickly as possible so that we can minimise the disruption.”

She warned motorists to avoid junction 11 on the M4 and said “that road will be closed for the longest during the day".

Several road closures will be in place throughout the town

Road closures will start on Saturday in Bennet Road and Whiteley Wood Lane from 17:00 BST.

Closures on Sunday will be in place on Basingstoke Road and Blagrave Street from 06:00, Mill Lane from 07:00, Kendrick Road from 08:30, and London and Friar Street from 09:00.

Most roads, including A33, Island Road and Shinfield Road, will be shut from 09:30 BST.

Details of all planned closures can be found on the event's road closure map.