UK's Jon Brown (78), well inside the 2004 Olympic qualifying standard of 2:15, with 2:13:39The 2004 Flora London marathon lived up to its reputation as the world's greatest road race on a cool and wet April morning. The world's greatest runners

Become a RW Race Reporter! Fancy contributing to the Race Reports section of our magazine? We are particularly looking for people who can cover races in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and NE England.You should be a keen runner with a good grasp

. With the west Scotland coastline providing an idyllic backdrop, swimmers made quick work of the first leg, thanks to the calm, sheltered waters of the Kyles of Bute. Teenager Lewis Murchie, the only junior in the race, was first out of the water, in 9

Distance: 1.5K/ 43K/ 10KWhere: Bowness-on-Windermere, CumbriaWhen: July 3First man: Steven Garner 2:27:39First woman: Christine Johnson 2:37:12Last finisher: 4:35:43No of finishers: 157Anyone who took part in this race last year could be forgiven

Distance: 1.5K/ 40K/ 10KDate: July 31Where: Blithfield Sailing Club, StaffordshireFirst man: Nick Dunn 1:58:08First woman: Hannah Shooter 2:14:03Last finisher: 3:47:47No of finishers: 222It must be reassuring for those with fears of swallowing mouthfuls of mucky water when the sw...

, the race still had a lot to offer and, while it wasn't always easy to see five metres in front of your face, it was easy to see why LA had attracted nearly 30,000 runners from 21 countries to run its version of 26.2.For a start, the idea of testing your

When: Weston-Super-MareWhere: February 13First man: Adam Watt 59:08First woman: Annabel Granger 1:04:27Last finisher: 2:16:45No. of finishers: 941Type of Race: Trail/ Road/ HillsRW Rating 2011: 89%No prizes for guessing the difficulty rating

unique selling points to bring athletes to their race. A purpose-built loch is going to take some beating.Organised by Fleet Feet triathlon club, this event gave athletes the choice of standard and sprint distances. The cloudy but warm conditions meant

, the Forestman - a full Iron-distance triathlon. This year, it was a standalone race and the relatively small field made for occasional lonely moments on the undulating but beautiful course.After two laps of Ellingham Lake, competitors set off on the bike

of almost 20 per cent.There were some tricky descents, too, resulting in nasty spills for some riders, including Richard Anderson, who had been chasing down race leader Martin Cain. This left Cain to continue to victory, with Duncan Shea-Simonds moving up