Following last month's record-breaking eighth running of the Edinburgh Marathon Festival, Oxfam will become the event's principal charity partner for the next three years.

The Edinburgh Marathon Festival organisers and Oxfam are delighted to be working together on this running event, Scotland's biggest marathon.

Antonia Flockhart, the Edinburgh Marathon Festival's partnership manager, said:

"As well as being a world class sporting event, the Edinburgh Marathon Festival aims to promote community involvement, health and well-being, so we see this relationship with Oxfam as a perfect partnership fit for us because there is a real affinity between the types of people who participate in marathons and Oxfam's core supporters."

A record 16,822 runners took to the streets of the Scottish capital last month, participating in the Scottish Half Marathon and the Hairy Haggis Team Relay, as well as the Edinburgh Marathon itself.

The two organisations see massive mutual benefits in working together, with Oxfam increasing its involvement in running events this year by also becoming Virgin London Marathon 2011 Charity of the Year.

The charity, which fights poverty worldwide, aims to have at least 500 people running for them in this high-profile event, which will now be known as The Edinburgh Marathon Festival in association with Oxfam.

Alicia Donaldson, Oxfam's Running Events Manager, said:

"This is an amazing opportunity for Oxfam. To continue our life-changing work, like supplying people with safe drinking water or campaigning for free education for all, we need people to run for us. Being associated with the Edinburgh Marathon is the ideal platform to ask people to support Oxfam. It's such a fantastic event and we're going to work with our new partners to make the Edinburgh Marathon Festival in association with Oxfam even more special, well-known and respected worldwide."

To support Oxfam in the Edinburgh Marathon, please go to www.oxfam.org.uk/running