Running legend Steve Cram said the Bristol Half Marathon is growing in national stature and is becoming an iconic event in the city's calendar.

The former mile and 1,500 metres world record holder was in the city to promote the event and to raise awareness for Coco, one of the official charities of this year's race.

The half marathon takes place this year on Sunday September 6, following on from next month's Bristol 10K.

And speaking at the city centre offices of race partner law firm Clarke Wilmott, Steve said the growth of the races over the years is reflecting well on the city as a whole.

He said: "What helps is that you see yourselves as a distinct region and the half marathon is seen very much as an event which belongs to the city.

"It's an event with its own identity and, like the Great North Run which is based in the North East, where I come from, it's an event which is really embedded in the city.

"Up there people say that the Great North Run is their event, for their region and I think Bristol is very much the same for that.

"The event is important for the economy as well and the more it continues to grow nationally and internationally then it's something that people will start to associate with the city and the region."

Steve, who ran during the golden age of British middle-distance running in the 1980s, had arguably his finest hour when he set three world records at 1,500 metres, the mile and 2,000 metres in a 19-day period in summer of 1985. Before then he had won the gold medal for the 1,500 metres at the World Championships in Helsinki in 1983, as well as picking up the 1,500 metres silver behind Sebastian Coe at the Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984.

But he said the same rules apply to all runners.

He said: "Once you find out that you have got some ability in something you very quickly start to want to be better at it.

"And that's really what my motivation was – I began to enjoy the results and I was prepared to do as much as I could to make that possible.

"That was what motivated me. I didn't really like training and as soon as the end product was gone I stopped doing what I was doing.

"And I think that's the way that most people work. They don't do the training for the sake of it but they are working towards a goal or a target. But it's all relative."

the organisation of the Bristol Half Marathon since he took part in a 'Legends Challenge' event here in 2003.

For the past few years, he has been helping the city council raise the profile of the event, from a small-time run with just a few thousand competitors to one of the biggest half marathons in the country.

His charity Coco, which helps educate African children, remains one of the race's charities for this year's event.

He said: "The Bristol Half Marathon is hugely important for the charity because the more people that we get then the more funds we can raise."

Georgette Van Hoof, race director of the Bristol Half Marathon, paid tribute to the influence Steve Cram has had on the race over the past few years. She said: "Steve's been involved since 2003 and he's gradually developed his relationship with us and gives us a lot of advice now. He guides us on what goes on out there, which has allowed us to develop the race and bring in some of the initiatives which are part of the success of the event as a whole.

"We're quite forward thinking as an event and we'd still be a 4,000-entrant race if it wasn't for the vision which Steve has helped us create. To work with people at the top of their field means that it motivates you to create an event of a similar level of prestige."