Furniture designer Mark Wilkinson OBE, has been commissioned to design and make the Trophy for The Royal Parks Foundation’s Half Marathon, to be run on Sunday October 10.

The race, which has raised over £4.5 million for selected charities over the past two years, starts and finishes in Hyde Park and winds its way past Buckingham Palace, through Kensington Gardens, St James Park and Green Park.

The Trophy is sculpted from a piece of Burr Oak that Wilkinson ‘found’ during a visit to one of the London Parks and was made in the research and development workshops of Mark Wilkinson Furniture.

The central ‘ball’ is also Burr Oak and the inner surface is finished in gold leaf.

A spokesperson for The Royal Park’s Foundation explained that they were keen to have a special trophy to mark the occasion:

"Considered one of the finest furniture designers of our time, Mark Wilkinson OBE is the man behind this year’s Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon trophy. Worldwide, Wilkinson has a following where all agree he is the best when it comes to quality, design and workmanship. Mark’s pieces are all individually breathtaking with a perfect blend of integrity and passion, along with a love of proportion. It’s an absolute honour to have this year’s trophy sculpted by one of the country’s best designers."