, as the locals turn out in force to cheer some 1,100 runners round the undulating, two-lap traffic-free course. Well established on the north-east racing agenda, this year marks the event’s 20th anniversary, and a concurrent 3K race for 11-16s and a beginners

’m plodding towards a 10K in September but I have a problem with hills. It's getting increasingly hard to find anywhere even remotely flat to run! In one way, it's a good thing as I'm entered for the Lanhydrock race which is hilly but it's really challenging

picking up the pace and eventually the walking breaks went. A few years on, I'm now a marathon runner and gone from a size 14 to between an 8 and a 10. So stick at it, it's worth it in the end. Oh, and by the way,you'll burn a lot more calories outside

Castle 10K (Leicestershire, July 15)Harrogate Town Centre 10K (North Yorkshire, July 29)A great way to work up an appetiteHungarton 7 (Leicestershire, July 11) Billed as Leicestershire’s toughest road race, this scenic seven-miler enters its 24th year

toes.-->Filling Up Fast...Bolton 10K, April 13Bolton 10K (Greater Manchester, April 13) While 40,000 runners head to the capital for the Flora London Marathon, another 1,000 will be travelling to the north-west for this fast and friendly road race

iconic sights. Great Eastern Run (Cambridgeshire, October 14) After a 10-year break, the return of this popular half-marathon to the UK racing calendar in 2006 was met with unprecedented excitement and already this year's event is causing a stir

of paces to choose from as a faster runner. If the slowest anyone can run is say 12-minute miles, a runner who runs a 5K at 10-minute-mile pace won't have the same range of options as someone who can run five-minute miles (since they can run at any speed

of the historic city. Don’t feel ready to tackle the half-marathon distance? Then sign up for the Race4Each 5K option, also starting and finishing in Norfolk Showground.Bedford Harriers Half-Marathon (Bedfordshire, December 2) The last 13.1-miler in the UK racing

there is no loo roll to help out with the pre-race nerves! – PachaIf it's raining take a bum-bag. Fill it with the usual goodies, sweets, chocolate, pills etc but also some of those mini-ankle socks. Should you have to stop at 16 miles with blisters, you'll have

with simple mind-tricksI gave up on January 23 this year. In this time I have gone from 10-minute miling to 9-minute miles so you should be able to see huge improvements almost immediately. I used to chew two pieces of Airwave gum at the same time because