not spring to mind as an obvious place to hold two half-marathons in a year. Surely the organisers used up the only nice scenery during the first 13.1 miles back in March? Well, on July 24 the NSPCC will introduce 1000 race entrants to a tour of Milton Keynes

am. Get there early for a good spot and you’ll also catch some of the world’s best athletes tackle the Great North Sprints and the Great North Mile Races later in the day (11.30am, 1-2.15pm). Children aged between nine and 16 are also catered

and Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist, describes a race he first ran in 1973, when he finished second to the American Frank Shorter.“You go across some fields, then alongside the smelliest river you have ever known in your life, jumping over holes in the canal