At the time of writing, your event rating for Sunday's Great North Run gives the world's biggest half marathon an overall score of 77 per cent. Not bad, but a long way off the 96 per cent scored by the same day's Anglesey Marathon, and also dwarfed

It's not a marathon and it's not got Paula Radcliffe, but the Great North Run is one humdinger of an event.This road race in Tyne and Wear attracts the kind of attention and numbers that many full marathons can only dream about. On October 1, when

or the New Forest. And, unlike the Great North Run, it’s not on telly.But this marathon, in a sleepy market town just outside Oxford, is hugely popular. Race day isn't until October 22, but the event's 1,000 places have long been snapped up – 107 of them