The Sky Blues' team, which will include first-team coach Jamie Clapham, will be looking for the Midlands title...
Coventry City will be going all out to claim bragging rights as local clubs bid to get their hands on the inaugural Ding Dong Derby Cup at the Great Birmingham 10k.
All clubs across the region are invited to join Villa, Blues, West Brom, Wolves, Walsall and Coventry in entering teams into the Sunday, May 1 running challenge.
From Premier League outfits at the tip of the footballing pyramid down to Sunday League sides at grassroots level, clubs of all sizes can enter.
Each team must be at least four-a-side, up to a maximum of eight runners, although there is no limit on how many teams each club can enter. Any club that enters 12 or more runners will receive its own personalised engraved plaque in the name of its fastest runner.
The Ding Dong Derby Cup gets its name from the phrase made famous by Free Radio’s Tom Ross in describing local affairs down the years.
Jamie Clapham, first-team coach at Coventry and a former Blues and Wolves defender, said: "I've got full confidence in the team we've put together and we're definitely in it to win it.
"Having experienced a few big derbies myself, I know how important it is to get the edge over your local rivals and it'll be no different in the Great Birmingham 10k.
"Our running team will be put through a difficult training course ahead of the 10k to make sure Coventry will be lifting the Ding Dong Derby Cup on Sunday, May 1."
The four fastest times posted by each team will be accumulated to determine who is the fittest and fastest club in the region – and secure the ultimate derby bragging rights!
Erdington-based Paget Rangers, of Midland Football League Division Two, are the first non-league club to enter.
West Midlands football legend Cyrille Regis MBE, who played for Albion, Coventry, Villa and Wolves, will present the Ding Dong Derby Cup to the winning team.
Cyrille said: “I played for four of the clubs involved and know how competitive they all are. They’ll be desperate to beat their local rivals and get their hands on the Ding Dong Derby cup!
“But this is a chance for the smaller teams in the region to go head to head with the big boys and pip them to the silverware. May the fittest team win. I’ll look forward to presenting them with the trophy.”
Starting at 11am, more than 7,000 people are expected to take part in the Great Birmingham 10k which begins and finishes in the city centre.
Ding Dong Derby Cup signs-ups can be made via the Great Birmingham 10k Business Challenge page. The full club name should be typed in the ‘name of company’ box. To enter, visit: https://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-10k/business-challenge.