ELEVEN thousand people have already signed up to take part in next year’s Brighton Marathon.

General entries for the popular event have now closed just over ten weeks since registration opened.

Organisers say this year’s marathon weekend in April, which included a 10km race and children’s mini mile races, has been the biggest so far.

While participant numbers reached their highest number at more than 12,000, the new Event Village welcomed more than 150,000 visitors.

A similar number was also calculated to have watched along the route.

Organisers are now aiming to make next year’s event on April 15 even bigger and better.

Brighton Marathon weekend event director Tom Naylor said: “We are a relatively young event, with the majority of big city marathons having taken place for decades, so to be able to say we are among Europe’s largest is testament to Brighton and Hove and the support we receive from the community.

“We look forward to welcoming thousands of new marathon runners and their friends and family to Brighton, where we hope we can support them in raising millions for good causes.”

Entries can now be secured through the more than 250 charities with places available.

For more details visit brightonmarathonweekend.co.uk.