Children’s television presenter Helen Skelton will fire the starting gun to set more than 600 runners in gorilla suits loose for the Great Gorilla Run this Saturday, 26 September.The annual London event, which raises funds for The Gorilla Organization, takes place over a 7km route in the City of London, taking in some of the capital’s most iconic sights like Tower Bridge, Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre.

Last year runners raised more than £300,000 for the Gorilla Organization’s conservation and development programme, helping to ensure the survival of the gorillas.

TV personality Helen Skelton will be starting the run with gorilla-runner Rory Coleman, who trained her to run a 78 mile ultra marathon in the Namibian desert earlier this year. She was only the second woman ever to complete the challenge, and finished in just under 24 hours. Not to be outdone, Rory is making this trip to London by running a marathon a day for four days from his home in Nottinghamshire, in a gorilla suit.

Helen says “I’d encourage anyone to support a charity that helps protect Gorillas. It’s easy to take wildlife for granted, but we’ll regret that in the not too distant future if we don’t act now. This is a fun race that will be entertaining to watch and even more so to take part in.”

There are now only around 700 mountain gorillas left in the wild. Executive Director of The Gorilla Organization, Jillian Miller, says “The Great Gorilla Run is a fantastic way to raise money for the brave African conservationists and rangers who risk their lives protecting the gorillas so they will still be there for generations yet to come.“