ORGANISERS of the Manchester Half Marathon have confirmed that discount supermarket chain Aldi is their headline partner for the inaugural race on October 16.

The Trafford-based 13.1-mile race will now be called the Aldi Manchester Half Marathon.

Aldi has recently been the official supermarket sponsor of Team GB at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Manchester’s first ever half marathon is on track to sell out all of its 12,000 places for its autumn debut.

In addition to its role as partner, Aldi will also be supporting the Aldi Manchester Half Marathon at a community level by providing water during the race and food and drink for all the race marshals.

Aldi joins other high profile names including ASICS, Intersport and HIGH5 in lending strong support to the very first Aldi Manchester Half Marathon.

The race starts at White City roundabout and finishes at Emirates Old Trafford Lancashire County Cricket Club, the same venue as the popular ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon, and the organisers are promising plenty of entertainment and outstanding crowd support.

Race Director Simon Hill said: “We are delighted to welcome Aldi as our official headline partner for the inaugural Aldi Manchester Half Marathon. The supermarket joins us in wanting to make sport available to everyone, and we hope that recent success in Rio will inspire any last entrants to sign up and join in. It is set to be a fantastic day of sporting achievement, with outstanding support and entertainment alongside big name sponsors.

“There is still time to register and be part of the action. We look forward to filling the streets of Manchester and showing runners all that this great sporting city has to offer.”

The Aldi Manchester Half Marathon is supporting three national charity partners: Alzheimer’s Society, British Heart Foundation and Save the Children. The two local charity partners are The Christie and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH).

The Aldi Manchester Half Marathon will take runners on wide, closed roads through Old Trafford, Stretford, Brooklands and Sale. Entry costs £37, with £1 per runner going into the Trafford Athlete Fund which was set up to benefit gifted and talented young athletes in Trafford.

Go to www.manchesterhalfmarathon.com for further race details and to sign up now, like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/manchesterhalfmarathon and follow @manchesterhalf #ManchesterHalf #NOWWERUN on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news.