Route unveiled for Birmingham World Half Marathon Championships

The official route for the 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, which will be held in Birmingham on Sunday 11th October, has been unveiled by the organisers.

The event will see around 200 of some of the world's best distance runners, representing an estimated 50 countries, take to the streets of Birmingham and the route involves athletes starting and finishing on Broad Street near Centenary Square in the heart of the city centre.

It takes in some of Birmingham's major landmarks and includes a lap around Cannon Hill Park, one of the city's premier parks. The competitors will also run past Cadbury World and the Cadbury factory in Bournville.

The 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships will be jointly organised by UKA and Birmingham City Council who have teamed up several times in recent years to stage some hugely successful events including the 9th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in 2003 and the European Athletics Indoor Championships in 2007.

The 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships is being held on the same morning as the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon, a mass participation event now in its second year.

In 2008 the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon attracted nearly 9,000 entries and organisers Birmingham City Council are hoping even more will sign up in 2009, especially as the runners will be competing on an almost identical course to the athletes running in the 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, giving club and fun runners the chance to run in the footsteps of some of the world's elite runners.

The 18th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships is supported by the IAAF's official partners, adidas, Epson and Seiko and their official supplier