THE call is going out for business to get involved in one of Scotland's most popular running events.

This year's freshnlo Great Scottish Run takes place on September 7, and firms across the country are being encouraged to get involved to challege for three trophies.

To take part businesses need a minimum of four runners in one race, either the 10K or the half marathon.

For example five workmates running the 10K race together would qualify for a chance to win the prizes but runners cannot be spread across both the 10K and half-marathon races unless there are four or more team members in each race.

The winners of the Team Challenge will be calculated based on the finishing positions of the first four runners in your team.

Their times will be calculated using each runner's chip time only, so it won't matter if some of your team start at the front of the field and others at the back.

As well as boosting numbers and helping raise money for charity, the idea is also to help get staff fit.

A poll of more than 1000 executives found half of the respondents rarely took part in any physical exercise.

Almost 29% of female executives and 32% of men did no exercise, and fewer than a third did the recommended three sessions per week.

A similar study of 2000 employees also found a gulf between the business performance of staff who exercised and those who did not.

One firm getting involved in the Great Scottish Run in a big way is city recruitment firm Hays.

With support from property sector training company Prospects Glasgow, 30 Hays' staff are running this year's race.

Prospects is paying for its staff's places in a drive to promote fitness and raise cash for Parkinson's disease charity Wobbly Williams, set up by sufferer Bryn Wiliams.

Prospect's Ian Kilpatrick said: "Bryn's story caught the interest of everyone I've told. We are proud to be involved with the Wobbly Williams team."

Bryn, who was diagnosed with the condition last year, said the charity's going from strength to strength.

He added: "The support of Prospects is fantastic."

The Evening Times is media partner for this year's Great Scottish Run. For details, log on to www.runglasgow.org.