EVERYONE who enters the 2016 Ealing Half Marathon this month will be helping the homeless of Ealing.

Ealing Half Marathon CIC, who organise the award-winning event, have promised to make a donation of £5 to Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter for every race entry received throughout December.

The popular annual event was voted Best Half Marathon for the second year in a row at the 2015 Running Awards and this year’s event saw a record attendance of 7,000.

Race director Kelvin Walker said: “The Ealing Half Marathon is different to many races and events out there because it is organised by a Community Interest Company (CIC), which benefits the community rather than private shareholders.

“Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter provides for the most basic and essential needs for homeless people – sleep and food - and also has a wider impact on the community through the extensive network of volunteers.

“We are proud to support the Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter and we are hoping to raise vital funds for this great cause.”

The night shelter is is run by an ecumenical coalition of churches within the borough of Ealing and it provides emergency accommodation for up to 14 guests including those who are sleeping rough and those at immediate risk of homelessness.

It is open from late November to the end of March, and on each night of the week a different church opens its doors, providing a hot meal, somewhere to sleep, breakfast and companionship.

Alison Wood, the project co-ordinator at Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter, said: “We are delighted that the Ealing Half Marathon is once again helping to fund our work with homeless people in Ealing borough.

“It is great to get this news just as we are about to open for another season.

“Every £5 covers a night’s rest for one person in a shelter out of the cold.”

Next year’s Ealing Half Marathon takes place on Sunday September 25, 2016 and it will be celebrating its fifth anniversary.

The 13.1 mile single lap course starts and finishes in Lammas Park, taking in parts of central Ealing, Montpelier, Pitshanger, west Ealing, Hanwell and St Stephen’s.

It was introduced in the Olympic year in order to bring a mass participation sporting event to Ealing that would be a legacy to the 2012 games.

A total of 8,000 places are available for 2016 and entries cost £36 for affiliated runners and £38 for unaffiliated runners.

Go to www.ealinghalfmarathon.com for further race details and to sign up, like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/ealinghalf and follow @EalingHalf on Twitter for more information.