Grove House hospice has announced its first ever 10-kilometre charity run, to take place on Sunday 8th October.

The run, which is called 'THE HERTS 10K' and is sponsored by St Albans based company Levy Associates, begins and ends at the Rothamstead Experimental Station and follows a varied route through the Harpenden countryside.

The organisers of the run are hoping to attract 1,000 runners and encourage everyone who participates to collect as much sponsorship as possible. Paul Parrish, Fundraising Director at Grove House explained: "Each year our fundraising target increases. This year we have to raise more than £700,000 to continue to help local people living with cancer or another life-threatening illness. If each person raised just £100 in sponsorship money that would make an unbelievable difference to us and to the people we help."

Lawrence Levy, Founder and Managing Director of Levy Associates, approached Grove House in the spring and suggested organising a sponsored run. His company specialises in the recruitment of high calibre staff for the IT and Pharmaceutical industries and Lawrence wanted to give something back to the community. He said: "We work with a number of large organisations involved in oncology research and that's one of the reasons we wanted to support the hospice. Grove House makes such a difference to local people in our community and we really wanted to help ensure their success for years to come."

"We are really proud to be the main sponsor of the first ever Herts 10K run. I think it's a great way to bring in a much needed funding whilst raising awareness of this valuable local charity. I hope the run will build year on year and become an annual event on the Hertfordshire running calendar."

The theme for this years' race is 'Running for Life'. Organisers see this race as becoming a yearly run and have planned it to be the best sponsored event in the county. Paul said: "We have sourced the best of everything - we have great T-shirts for people who run, and they'll all get a fantastic medal too. We're going to have prizes for those who raise the most money. Sponsorship is a very important part of this event and we're counting on people to raise as much as they can, as well as having a fabulous and memorable day."

Registration for the run costs £12. Further information and registration forms can be found at www.grove-house.org.uk/10k or by phoning 01727 731010. Organisers are also looking for more than fifty volunteers to ensure the run is a success. If you would like more information about volunteering, please call Thomas on 01727 731010.