A HALF marathon around Woodstock’s Blenheim Palace should be a walk in the park for double Olympian Liz Yelling.

The 37-year-old marathon runner, a former training partner for women’s marathon legend Paula Radcliffe, heralded the health benefits of a new fundraising event at the popular stately home.

Launching the event for the British Heart Foundation on Wednesday, Mrs Yelling, said: “It’s really exciting to be a part of the Blenheim Palace Half Marathon.

“As an athlete, it’s important to keep my heart healthy and to eat well.

“By taking part, you can not only keep fit and keep your heart in good condition, but also help save lives.”

The 2012 Olympic Games hopeful, one of Brit-ain’s top marathon runners, is urging residents to join the October 2 event.

Starting from the Great Court at the heart of the palace, runners will race through the parkland of the palace estate and surrounding villages including Combe. The event also includes a 10k run, corporate challenge and relay and a 2k family fun run.

The BHF is hoping to attract thousands of runners to raise as much money as possible for the nation’s leading heart charity.

The run takes place as the BHF celebrates its 50th anniversary. Sarah Kirkpatrick, regional events organiser for the charity, said: “Heart disease is still the nation’s biggest killer – sadly it touches us all.

“We’re thrilled to have Liz Yelling to help us launch this exciting new event.

“This is the first time we have staged this event and we would like it to become an annual fixture – at the moment it’s the only half-marathon at Blenheim.”

Mrs Yelling won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2006 Commonwealth Games and has taken part in both Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

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  • For more information see bhf.orguk/blenheim. To take part, call 0800 169 3672 or email northwestwales @bhf.org.uk