The National State Teams Half Marathon Championships will be held in conjunction with the Canberra Half Marathon on Sunday April 9.

The half marathon, which starts at 8.00 am, follows a flat course on the bicycle paths around Lake Burley Griffin and takes in most of the major sights of Canberra.

This is the second year that the Teams Championship has been held.

The inaugural event, which was held in Sydney last year, was won by the "Allies" team.

According to the organisers, the format for the event is very simple.

Runners are assigned to teams on the basis of their state of enlistment.

There are four teams, Victoria, NSW/ACT, Queensland and the Allies (a composite team SA/WA/TAS/NT).

Each team has 10 members, eight men and two women, with all runners receiving a race time adjustment according to their gender and age.

This ensures a relatively level playing field and runners are not discriminated against because of their gender and age (an internationally accepted handicapping table is used).

Participation in the event is open to all full and part time uniformed personnel.

If you are interested in participating send an email message to: dave.holland@hic.gov.au
An entry form and further details about the event will then be mailed out to you.

Runners of all ages and abilities competed in the event last year and the organisers hope that interest will remain strong.