ONE OF Britain’s greatest runners is hoping to take part in the area’s first 10k run this summer.

Steve Cram, a former world record holder over 1,500m, 2,000m and a mile, was laun-ching the Pennine Lancashire 10k, which takes place in Blackburn on July 11.

He said: “I am absolutely determined to be here on the day.

“I should be able to run it, I’m pretty sure.”

Organisers of the Lancashire Telegraph-supported event hope to attract thou-sands of entrants.

And the Olympic silver medalist said 10k was the perfect distance to encourage as many people as possible to take part.

He said: “It’s a really nice distance. If you’re a serious runner you can try and push yourself, or you could just turn up and walk it.”

Today's launch, at Blackburn town hall, was attended by charity representatives who are hoping make the most of the event.

But a planned race between charity mascots, and those of Blackburn Rovers and Burnley FC, had to be called off due to a sudden downpour.

The Pennine Lancashire 10k is being organised by charity Run For All, launched by tireless campaigner Jane Tomlinson, who raised £1.8million for good causes before she lost her battle with cancer in 2007.

Jane’s husband Mike is behind the event, which is expected to rotate around East Lancashire in future years.

He said he hoped to get a turnout as close as possible to the maximum 5,000 runners, with 600 tickets sold already.

He added: “To have Steve Cram come down on the day is a real boost.

“We will have thousands of people and it should be a great event.”

The launch had been planned earlier this month but was called off because of the snow.