THE NORTH Dorset Village Marathon is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with entries open for the race that will go along country lanes through villages such as Stalbridge, Marnhull and Farrington among others.

The marathon will take place on Sunday May 6 starting at Sturminster Newton High School and it will also be the fifth race in the 2018 Dorset Road Race League.

After the race there will be a hog roast at the school or vegetarian and vegan options.

Everyone that takes part in the marathon will receive a medal and a t-shirt while everyone in the relay will also receive a t-shirt.

Special prizes will be handed out to those for the top three males or females while prizes will be given to the top male and female in the following age categories: 18-20+, 30+, 40+, 50+, 60+, 70+.

For the relay the top three all male, all female and mixed teams will receive a special prize.

Entries are also open for the relay race that will see teams consisting of up to a maximum of four people with each person running approximately 10 kilometers each.

The marathon will have a maximum of 400 entrants while there will be a limit of 40 relay teams.

While the relay race last year saw the all male team the Pac Men win with a combined time of 02:30:57 while the fastest mixed team were the Hamworthy Harriers Aces with a time of 03:02:25 and the fastest female team the Four Non Blondes coming in at 03:06:10.

Entries close on May 3 but there will be a waiting list should the race be fully booked.

Meanwhile, the Dorset Doddlers are advertising for people to join their free beginners and improvers running group, which meets every Thursday at Sturminster Leisure Centre with a warm up at 6.15pm before the main session starts at 6.30pm.

They have four qualified group leaders to help you achieve your personal running goals in a friendly, supportive and fun environment and cater for those of any ability with no pressure to run at any specific pace.