The rush is on by athletes wanting to run the Bristol Half Marathon, which is this year’s UK Half Marathon Championship and the official trial for the World Road Running Championships Half Marathon.

The Bristol Half is on Sunday 9 September and is so popular that organisers have to impose a limit of 15,000. In the first week after entries opened, almost 4,000 snapped up places.

Places are reserved for elite athletes – i.e., a man with a best under 66:30 or a woman with a best under 76:30. Go to http://www.bristolhalfmarathon.com/enter/ to find how to enter if you are an elite athlete.

Elite athletes who will need accommodation in Bristol for the weekend should contact Bud Baldaro by emailing bud@baldaro.com as soon as possible.

UK Athletics will publish in April details of how the Norwich Union Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team will be selected for the World Half Marathon Championships, which will take place in Udine, Italy, on 14 October.

When the World Half was run in Bristol in 2001, Paula Radcliffe retained the women’s title in 66:47 and Haile Gebrselassie won the men’s crown in 60:03.