A BUILDING firm has stepped in to keep a popular road race on track.

Yuill Homes, of Hartlepool, Teesside, is taking over sponsorship of the Redcar Half Marathon from troubled power group Enron, which backed the event last year.

Joanne Hodgson, events organiser with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: "We are very grateful for Yuill's backing, as without it the race would not have been able to continue."

Organisers overcame hurdles set by foot-and-mouth restrictions in 2001, the 19th year of the run, altering the route to avoid vulnerable farmland.

About 1,500 competitors took part, one of the happiest being Corporal William MacLennan, from Catterick, who broke the Guinness Book of Records individual speed march world record. Gold medal winning Tanni Grey Thompson took part in the wheelchair event, alongside husband Ian, and Kevin Papworth, winner of the London Marathon in 2000.

Susan Latimer, Yuill's sales and marketing director, said: "The Redcar Half Marathon is a well known regional event and we are only too happy to be able to take over this year's sponsorship and hope that our contribution will help to make the event as successful as it has been for the past 19 years.''

Organisers expect to equal, or better, last year's entry. The Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre at South Bank, near Middlesbrough, is the official charity for the race, which will be run on March 17.