Cancer Research UK has been named the official charity of next year’s London Marathon and hopes to raise £2.5m towards its work.

The charity said it is aiming to get its biggest ever team of more than 2,500 runners signed up to the 2015 event.

CRUK had more than 1,200 runners take part in this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon, which took place on Sunday, and they are due to raise more than £1.1m.

Helen Jackson, head of sports at the charity, said, “By joining the CRUK team, our runners will have support every step of the way as they help us reach our ambitious fundraising target.

“We’ve got some exciting plans for the year ahead, and we hope people will choose be a part of our biggest ever marathon team and help us beat cancer sooner.”

This year’s official charity partner for the marathon was Anthony Nolan, which said it was on track to raise £1m from the support of its 506 runners.

Last year’s marathon raised a record £53m for charity.