THE Ealing Half Marathon won ‘Best Half Marathon’ for the third year in a row at The Running Awards in association with JustGiving last week.

The west London race was awarded gold after receiving the most votes by runners at the only independent awards ceremony which celebrates the best of running and its culture.

Race director Kelvin Walker and race co-ordinator Sandra Courtney were presented with the trophy by BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell at indigo at The O2 on Friday April 22.

Kelvin said: “When our name was called out I felt very emotional and incredibly proud of our community and supporters who have helped us to get here.

“As a not-for-profit community interest company, the Ealing Half Marathon funds a variety of projects and activities within the local community, and our triple gold is a great tribute to all the hard work and commitment that has gone into making this possible.

“We would like to thank all those who voted and of course our many volunteers and dedicated committee.”

The Ealing Half Marathon starts and finishes in Lammas Park and features a 13.1 mile route on closed roads around the leafy streets and parks of the west London borough.

The race has raised more than £850,000 since its inauguration in 2012, and is looking forward to welcoming 8,000 runners of all abilities to its fifth anniversary race on Sunday September 25.

Sandra said: “It is beyond our dreams to win gold for the third year running!

“We never would have thought it possible when we set up the race five years ago, but it just goes to show what you can achieve with determination, fantastic community support and a positive vision.

“The race is getting bigger and better and we hope that more people will come to experience the #EalingFeeling.”

Emma Dyer, 25, got her personal best of 1:47:48 when she ran the Ealing Half Marathon in 2015.

She said: “It is a really well organised race with great support and a fantastic finishing area, and a course that got me a PB by over five minutes.”

Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK and CLIC Sargent are the official charity partners for the Ealing Half Marathon 2016.

Go to www.ealinghalfmarathon.com for further race details and to sign up now, like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ealinghalf and follow @EalingHalf on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news about the Ealing Half Marathon.