The event will start and finish in Fitz Park and take in the hills overlooking Keswick

An off-road marathon in the Lake District will see competitors tackle circuits of the hills above Keswick.

The Karrimor Great Trail Challenge will offer marathon, half-marathon and 10km challenges to runners on around Latrigg and Lonscale Fell.

The race is being organised by the same team that stages the Bupa Great North Run in Tyneside each year.

The marathon course consists of two laps of a long loop, rising as high as 399m (1,309ft) on Lonscale Fell, plus two short loops contouring round Latrigg’s slopes.

Half-marathon runners will tackle one of each lap while the 10k race will involve one short loop.

Nova, the team behind the new event, also organises the British Gas Great North Swim at Windermere, which will be staged the following weekend.

Dave Newton, managing director of Nova said: “We are really excited about this new event in one of the most scenic parts of the world and the level of interest has been phenomenal.

“With three different distances there is a challenge available to all and we expect several thousand people to take part across the day.”

All three races will start and finish at Fitz Park in Keswick on 17 June.

Limited places are available on the marathon length; entrants must be over 18 and entry fee is £40. The half-marathon is open to those aged 17 and above and costs £32, with the 10k race costing £25 for competitors at least 15 years old.

Pete Gostling, marketing manager for Sports Direct-owned brand Karrimor, said: “The Great Trail Challenge seeks to entice the more adventurous of runners to take to the beautiful Cumbrian hills to embrace a new challenge.

“It’s great to be involved with such an interesting event right at the start and we look forward to working with the team at Nova.”

More details are on the Great Trail Challenge website.