5,000 runners launch square mile challenge

The City of London will host its second major road race of the year in July when the organisers of the London Marathon stage a 5km corporate challenge in the capital.

The Great City Race, which will take place on 21 July, hopes to attract 5,000 competitors from across London. David Bedford, the race director, said: "The City of London is the perfect venue for this new event which, with full road closures, will quickly become the creme de la creme of corporate road races.

"The advent of corporate running events comes from the fact that until 30 years ago most companies had sports days, but with the changing face of working life most of these have gone. However, corporate events such as this allow companies, who in much of their business year are competing, to meet and compete in a friendly environment," he added.

The race, which takes in several City of London landmarks including St Paul's Cathedral, Tower 42 and the Bank of England, starts and finishes in City Road, close to Finsbury Square. Companies are able to put forward up to 20 runners, male and female, until the 5,000 entry limit is reached. There are a number of competitions within the race, including a men's, women's and mixed-team challenge based on the finishing positions of the first four competitors of each company.

There are additional awards for companies within five specific industry sectors - accountancy, banking, legal, media and insurance - who will have the opportunity to challenge each other.