ORGANISERS of a Worcestershire beer festival are adding an element of fun and run to this year’s event by staging a charity fundraising cross country race to the schedule.

The Green Hop Beer Festival is in its 19th year and takes place at the Teme Valley Brewery and neighbouring Talbot at Knightwick from Friday September 30 until Sunday October 2.

The organisers have teamed up with Worcestershire outdoor athletics event provider Pulse Pursuits, which provides running, cycling, paddling and bespoke events for leisure and business.

Registration takes place from 5pm to 5.45pm on Friday and the five kilometre race, which is limited to 120 runners aged over 15 years, starts at 6pm. The run is in aid of St Richard’s Hospice.

The off-road route starts from the rear of The Talbot and heads along a gentle track before taking a steep climb through woodland to the top of Ankerdine Hill before a breakneck decent to the finish line where participants will receive a bottle of Teme Valley Brewery ale.

Chris Gooch, brewer at The Teme Valley Brewery, said: "We've been running the Green Hop Beer Festival at The Talbot every autumn for 19 years, and we’re always looking for ways to add an element of fun to the event. When Mark Leyland from Pulse Pursuits suggested hosting a DirtRun event I jumped at the chance."

Mark Leyland added: “Our goal is to put on exciting events at inspiring locations, so we couldn’t resist the opportunity to join up with a beer festival and create a route which includes Ankerdine Hill. We’re delighted to be working with The Teme Valley Brewery and hope to make it an annual event.”

The Green Hop Hill Climb costs just £10 for those who sign up online. This includes a free beer and a DirtRun medal. Online entries close on Wednesday, but runners can still enter on the night for £12. For more information and to sign up visit: www.pulsepursuits.co.uk/events.

The festival will be held in a heated marque and there will be live music on Friday and Saturday when it runs from 11am to 11pm each day. It closes at 6pm on Sunday. Food is also available.