BUDDING athletes are shaking off their running gear for a fundraising jog to raise vital funds for local charities.

The Ridgeway Run will take place on September 24 with a five and a ten mile run starting and finishing in Ashbury, on the Oxfordshire and Wiltshire border.

Runners can decide whether to tackle the daunting ten mile track or stick to the five mile route.

Charities involved in this year’s run include Swindon Women's Aid, Swindon Youth Mentoring, Helen & Douglas House, SNDogs and brainstrust.

Patricia Cleverley, 45, from Wanborough, who is organising the event with her friend Emma McIntosh, said: “We have had an overwhelmingly positive response from everyone we have spoken to and we’re really excited about the run.

“We are inviting local charities to be part of our vision to create a fundraising run and in turn we will wholeheartedly support them by encouraging as many people to sign up as possible.

“We are in conversation with fundraising groups and hope this year to be able to support around ten charities, leaving plenty of space for runners who just want to run.”

Jessie Bascombe, founder of SNDogs, one of the charities involved in the run, said: “I think it’s amazing that they thought of us and it’s nice that people are running the race for local charities because we need all the support we can get.

“We’ll have a team of our own running.”

There will be a farmer’s market in Ashbury on the day and the village shop will provide food and drinks for all those taking part, with each runner being rewarded with a nice slice of cake when they finish.

For more information or to sign up for the run visit www.theridgewayrun.com