Thousands of people will come together in Rochester on Friday to celebrate 10 years of the Medway Mile.

The annual mass participation event will attract a capacity crowd of more than 3,000 runners, walkers and joggers of every size, shape and age who will take on the one-mile course through the historic streets of Rochester.

The Medway Mile was first staged in 2007 and was Medway’s flagship annual event counting down to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The event has continued as a legacy of the Games and is now a firm fixture on Medway’s event calendar.

This year’s event opens in Rochester Castle Gardens at 5pm when families can collect their T-shirts and programmes and start to work their way around a decathlon of sporting challenges. Other free attractions and entertainment in the Castle Gardens include a giant slide and climbing wall.

Pre-registration has now closed and there is no remaining capacity for souvenir T-shirts for people who have not registered, but the public is still welcome to come to the castle gardens and enjoy the family entertainment.

At 5.15pm pupils, staff and parents from Fairview Community Primary School will lead a parade around the arena in celebration of the success of the Medway Schools Mile programme which launched this year.

This will be followed by the children’s races. There’s no need to book for these in advance – children up to the age of 11 will be called together and grouped into races with children of a similar age, all within the Castle Gardens.

It’s then the turn of the mascots to do battle. Look out for mascot race veterans, including Dazzle from Medway Dragons RLFC, Deano the Dinosaur from Medway Asthma Self Help and Speedy Bunzales from Medway Fit, as well as newbies like Shark from Apex Predators Roller Derby and the Battle of Medway mascot Samuel Squeaks.

Joshua Clarke and Harry Flynn, who both turn 10 on the same day as the Mile, will be helping to start the mascot race.

Things get more serious at 7.15pm when almost 200 men and women will bid for anniversary glory in the competitive adult race. The race attracts club runners from across the county and anyone who can run a sub-eightminute mile. This race closes for registration at noon today (Monday).

The mayor of Medway, Cllr David Wildey, will officially start the mass race in Boley Hill at 8pm, after the warm-up.

Anyone who completes the Mile can then collect a souvenir medal from the registration tent to celebrate their achievement.

The attractions in the Castle Garden will re-open after the race and continue until 9.30pm.

The Medway Mile is organised by the Medway Sport team and Medway Council’s events team, in partnership with the A Better Medway campaign.