The organisers of the new Prince Bishops Durham City Run have revealed details of a payback incentive for athletic clubs whose runners take part in the event.

The 5K and 10K races on Wednesday, July 20 are expected to bring thousands of runners, spectators and volunteers to the city.

All running and athletics clubs can benefit financially from the payback scheme when enough affiliated runners sign up to one of the events.

The Prince Bishops Durham City Run is a Durham County Council initiative which is being organised by Events of the North, with sponsorship from Prince Bishops Shopping Centre and The Northern Echo.

Clubs can start to benefit from the payback scheme as soon as ten members have signed up to run in either run, with a sliding scale in the payback scheme for each event.

A club that enters 10-19 runners in the 10K will earn £50, 20-19 earns £60, 30-39 earns £70, 40-49 earns £80 and over 50 runners from one club in the 10K earns £100.

A club that enters 15-35 runners in the 5K earns £50, 36-50 earns £60 and 51 or more entries in the 5K earns £80.

A similar scheme that was introduced for this year’s Siglion Sunderland City Half Marathon and 10K led to £1,000 being paid back to local clubs for investment in the grass roots of the sport.

Event founder and director Steve Cram said: “Over the years, our races have received great support from the North East’s many clubs and our new event in Durham gives us an opportunity to give something back. We want to celebrate and thank all of the affiliated clubs in the region and the payback scheme is a great way to do that.”

Phil Houghton, chair of Sedgefield Harriers, added: “This is a great idea and a really positive way of supporting the grass roots of the sport in the North East. There’s been a lot of interest in the Prince Bishops Durham City Run from Sedgefield Harriers and we have already entered enough runners in the 10K to earn some cash back.

“Hopefully, a few more will sign up before the deadline on Friday to maximise the money that we can then invest back into club activities.”

The Prince Bishops Durham City Run 5K costs £15 to enter for unaffiliated runners and £13 for members of running clubs. The price for the 10K is £24, or £22 for club runners.

Places are available at www.durhamcityrun.com and entries close on Friday, July 15.

Other partners of the Prince Bishops Durham City Run include Durham University, Ramside Hall, and Unilite.