After more than 30 years, one of Bungay’s leading annual events is to have a new name that organisers believe will herald an even bigger and more famous occasion.

2015 sees the Bungay Marathon entering its 33rd year as an even more compelling and comprehensive running event featuring a choice of distances rarely seen in Britain’s officially sanctioned race calendar.

The event, which this year falls on Sunday, April 19, moves a step beyond offering nationally recognised full and half marathons by adding a blue riband 10k race.

The triple distance set will now be offered as part of the newly named Bungay Festival of Running and an additional fun run for children and grown-ups is in the planning stage.

Bungay Black Dog Running Club, which organises the British Association of Road Runners gold standard races, says it wants to “help Bungay become the country’s number one running destination – if only for the day”.

The full Bungay Marathon – 26.2 miles around a two lap course which takes runners through the town before heading out over a hilly course to Beccles, and back via villages including Gillingham, Geldeston, and Ellingham – has long been one of the country’s classic challenges.

“The 250 runners – from those tackling the distance or the course for the first time to seasoned pros – will find the usual Bungay Marathon challenge undiminished,” promised race director Bob Paul.

The ever popular half marathon, with its ceiling of 700 entries, is usually the day’s most popular choice of race with many from across the county and country choosing the single lap 13.1 mile variant as ideal preparation for the following weekend’s London marathon.

Now, the new Bungay 10K (6.2 miles), which also has a race entry limit of 250, will follow the half marathon course for the first few miles before heading off into the beautiful Waveney Valley.

There will be an array of age-graded prizes across all the races thanks to key long-time sponsors such as M&H Plastics.

There will be no entries on the day.

Enter online as soon as possible via the club website: www.bungayblackdogrunningclub .org.uk

The official race charity will again be NSPCC which will share the proceeds from the day with the running club.