THE 35th annual Taunton Marathon and Half Marathon take place early next month - and already hundreds of runners have signed up for the two races.

The organisers have set aside 1300 slots for the half marathon and 300 for the full marathon with the deadline being March 26, with the event taking place on Sunday, April 8.

As well as being the serious races, the event also raises money for good causes.

This year the event’s adopted charity is St Margaret’s Hospice, at Bishops Hull, near Taunton.

Last year saw a major change to the route to take runners off the A38 between Three Bridges and Bishops Hull.

Race director John Lewis said: “We did this for safety reasons. Sunday traffic has grown tremendously over the 34 years since we first held the event.

“A lot of local runners were already using the scenic route through Hele and Upcott into Bishops Hull for training, so it didn’t come as a shock to them.

“We had positive feedback from a lot of the runners after last year’s races, so we must have made the right decision.”

The races are again sponsored by Ashfords solicitors and Nuffield Health and hosted by Taunton and Bridgwater College.