, with little traffic, and we arrive in Reading just before 10am, and heave to in a car park next to Reading Rowing Club on the Thames. As we walk into a very sunny but chilly car park there's an explosion of greetings from all these strange people with even

- except that you type out your conversations and you never know who's going to chip in next. As well as being an exceptional place to spend a social hour or two, they're where you can tap the collective knowledge of over 140,000 runners, from first

. Social NetworksTwitter (twitter.com) is deceptively simple at first glance, but it's an extremely powerful tool. It's not just for telling everyone what you had for lunch. Setting up an account takes seconds, and once you're logged in you can connect

close Friday, March 12 2010.A carefully-selected expert panel will then decide on a winner, and the winning club will receive 50 sets of New Balance Kit (25 women's and 25 men's) comprising technical tees and shoes. Running clubs are the heart

and competition to improvers, but importantly they also create a social and sporting hub for the communities they operate within. Without clubs, running as we know it would not exist. To recognise the achievements of clubs up and down the country, Runner

by the crowds and the runners.2 Nike 10K, London, SeptemberWith so many new runners out for a great day, this really is as much a friendly ‘social gathering’ as a full-on race.3 Bupa Great North Run, Newcastle, SeptemberIt’s the world’s biggest half-marathon, so

the roads were being reopened.Biggest Surprise: How much water a furry rabbit costume can hold!My goal: Having an injury, my goal was to complete the race (walking) in order to hand-over in excess of £10,000 to my local hospice as a result of my fund

this mountain race in 1905, each competitor carrying an eight kilogram load. The Canigou is an isolated mountain, giving spectacular views of the surrounding country during the climb and from the summit. But to see them you’ve got to make it up the 16km climb

™ led the male veteran field (MV50) home in 3:09:15 (12th overall), while local runner 200 minutes proved to be the "fastest old man" (his own admission) in the 10K event, crossing the line in just 41:02.Dull Napoleon™, OuchOuch and Blisters

to make any post-run socials that are an integral part of any club's cohesion. "Mine's on my way home from work, so it's virtually impossible for me to justify not going – and I can enjoy a relaxing drink afterwards knowing I've got an easy 10-minute jog