THE biggest road race in the Hampshire calendar has helped make 2011 a recordbreaking year for the Bupa Great Run series.

More than 180,000 athletes took part in eight events, including the Great South Run, the world’s best ten-mile event, in Portsmouth last month, the Great North Run – the world’s biggest half-marathon – and the Great Manchester Run, Britain’s largest 10k event.

Of those, a record 24,000 competed in the Great South Run, including 2,000 from the SO postcode areas.

In addition, 2011 saw the introduction of the Great Birmingham Run, staged over the half-marathon distance.

The elite races attracted a bumper crop of world-class athletes, such as the Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, widely regarded as the greatest distance runner in history.

He won both the Great Manchester Run and the Great Birmingham Run.

Great Britain’s Mo Farah, the world 5,000m champion, triumphed in the Great Edinburgh Cross-Country.

The Great North Run, which was staged for the 31st time in 2011, remains the flagship event.

The race generated an estimated £22m for the Newcastle area, and saw 150,000 people line the route to cheer on more than 54,000 elite, club and fun runners.

With the exception of Birmingham, the events have all been complemented by Bupa Mini and Junior Great Runs – 1.5km or 2.5km races which were tackled by a total of more than 14,000 children between the ages of three and 16.

In all, runners collectively raised approximately £50m for more than 500 charities, including the Jon Egging Trust, which was launched at the Bupa Great North Run by Dr Emma Egging, in memory of her husband.

Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging was the Red Arrows pilot killed during the Bournemouth Air Show earlier this year.

Celebrities including Hugh Dennis, Nell McAndrew and Sophie Raworth also pounded the streets at this year’s Great Run events for charity.