, September's six-day, 175-mile Marathon of Britain is an off-road tour of hidden parts of England that most of us have only ever sped through on the motorway. It's organised by one of the friendliest, most charismatic people on the planet, and it's already a

for you, you can opt to participate in just a single day’s stage instead, which is hardly a soft option. You get a special atmosphere in this kind of multi-stage event, with plenty of bonding going on during the slog itself, but most of all over a beer

Where and when?Sunday, February 1, LancashireWhat is it?Top tip: enter a fine February race right now, while you're bright and motivated - and come the dark days of January, you'll have no excuse but to train up for it.Early-February races are a

Petersham Meadows, next to Richmond ParkWe're delighted to put our support behind the Chris Brasher Memorial 10K in London's Richmond Park on June 20. It should be a smashing day out in a glorious venue, all in memory of the single most influential

.3 milesToday was the longest day, but it actually felt easier than yesterday. We decided to have a stop after about 21 miles for around one hour to eat and rest. This seemed to work well and the next miles passed swiftly. We were accompanied by a

, sand and intensity of the MdS, but smart training will get you as close as possible. Nail down a long-term training plan and sign up for an ultra or two (there are a growing number of multi-day stage races on our events listings). For a pre-race multi

the following day.Breaking PointDay Nine turned out to be critical: Shades came within a whisker of dropping out of the challenge. "I’d been picking up injuries throughout the event and my calf muscles on both legs were so sore. I owe a great deal to two people

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

blasted for a solid eight hours.If the wind had continued into the third day's 38K stage, I might have been tempted to drop out of the race and spend the rest of the week lounging by the pool back in Ouarzazate, but the weather refused to provide an excuse

woolly bobble hat as a memento.North Pier Boxing Day 10K (Lancashire, December 26) You and 300 other runners can limber up after a day on the sofa with this Boxing Day 10K. A new event along Blackpool's famous Golden Mile, its flat, traffic-free road