ORGANISERS of Southwold's first 10k race have had to close the event to further entries after receiving a torrent of applications. The Adnams Southwold 10k run, which was the idea of the brewers, forms part of its efforts to raise �10,000 for the Prince's Trust.

ORGANISERS of Southwold's first 10k race have had to close the event to further entries after receiving a torrent of applications.

The Adnams Southwold 10k run, which was the idea of the brewers, forms part of its efforts to raise �10,000 for the Prince's Trust.

Head of corporate affairs Emma Hibbert said the number of available places for the November 22 event was capped at 300 to keep the inaugural event manageable for organisers, but these had filled up within four weeks of the race being announced.

'It has been phenomenal,' she said. 'We hoped it would be popular, but I don't think we quite realised just how many

we would get; it has been incredible.

'We've had a huge number of people from Southwold and Reydon but also from further afield across Suffolk and Norfolk, and people from London, Brighton and Sheffield.

'We had a lot of response from people who belong to running clubs, but it seems to be capturing the imaginations of people who want to run through Southwold. There are a number of people who are running in a race for the first time.'

Ms Hibbert said more than 400 entries had been received for the race, and organisers were now checking the situation with the race referee.

She added: 'We will try to accommodate as many people as we can. The race will accommodate 400 but we planned it to be 300, so if we can get everything together we don't want to disappoint.'

She said the decision would be taken today about how many runners could take part in the race.

Although no new applications would be accepted, those that had already been received could be put in a ballot.

The race starts at noon at the Harbour Inn, with registration taking place from 10.30am at Southwold Pavilion.

For more information or to support the event with a donation to the Prince's Trust visit www.adnams10k.co.uk. More trust information at www.princes-trust.org.uk