European air fares and hotel prices may enable you to find it cheaper to cross the Atlantic Ocean to test your spring marathon fitness. If you do, you won’t be disappointed by the choice or the quality of these races. Las Vegas Marathon and Half

.lisbon-half-marathon.com Prague Half-MarathonMonth: AprilThis is ideal for those who fancy Prague without those extra 13 miles. The organisation is the same, though the course is based more on the east side of the Vltava river with the race starting and finishing on Charles

Steve has run more than 60 marathons, holds a PB of 2:29, and has also won a British marathon title in his age group. This is his 35th successive year of preparing for a marathon and for the last five years, he's run a series of consistent times

the experience of the ordinary runner (of course, the two can be related: elite fields draw the TV coverage, which draws crowds, competitors and money to the race). Among other things, we scored the races for beauty, atmosphere and speed. And, hand on heart, we