Fixtures Diary
Every Saturday, 9.30am, Silverknowes Esplanade, Edinburgh
Free weekly 5km run. Whatever your age or standard, whether you are aiming for international selection or just need one less excuse to get out there and do something, use Park Runs as a full on time trial, a tempo/threshold run. A comeback race, a social run and blether or as an introduction to simple competition. The Edinburgh Park Run team will make you welcome,whatever your goal is.
Website: www.parkrun.org.uk/edinburgh/home
18/02/2012
All participants of Cardiff Parkrun run for their own enjoyment. Come and join in the race whatever your pace. It's you against the clock! The Cardiff 5km Parkrun takes place every Saturday at 9am at Blackweir in Cardiff. It's free but you must register in advance. The run is entirely organised by volunteers. Every week after the run the participants grab a post Parkrun coffee at Tesco Extra. Come and join in!
Website: www.parkrun.org.uk/cardiff
18/02/2012 Newport
The Newport Parkrun takes place every Saturday at 9am in the grounds of Tredegar House. The run is free. You must register in advance.áAfter the run, organisers and runners gather for coffee at the Brewhouse Cafe in the main courtyard of Tredegar House.
Website: www.parkrun.org.uk/newport
25/02/2012 Fife
Rural, accurately measured, 5 mile event in North East Fife. Relatively flat out and back route with traditional Fife AC post race hospitality.
04/03/2012 Edinburgh
Essentially a charity fundraiser, organised by the students of Edinburgh University. A half marathon and 5k event have been held for several years and a marathon is planned to be added in 2012. They use a multiple loops of a course using the Bristo and George Square area and the Meadows Park. Eight laps for the half and 16 laps for the full marathon. It has been accurately measured by a UKA course measurer so if you are aspiring for
100 Marathon Club status, it will qualify!
Website: www.meadowsmarathon.org.uk
04/03/2012 Lasswade
A seldom run distance these days, but Lasswade Athletic Club’s annual 10 mile race on the country roads of Midlothian always proves popular so enter early to avoid disappointment. Steep drop soon after the start into roslin glen with the inevitable climb back up again make for an interesting first two miles. The route then undulates trough Auchdinney above Penicuik to finally give wat to great views towards the Pentland hills. Second half is flat with a slightly downhill overall profile to make negative splits often possible on this course.
Website: www.lasswade-ac.org.uk
11/03/2012 Inverness
Traditionally the first large Half Marathon of the year in Scotland, where runners from all over Scotland head to see how winter training has gone, or as a good sharpener for an upcoming spring Marathon. Now organised by Malcolm Sutherland and the great team, who also bring you the Baxter’s Loch Ness Marathon Festival in late summer.
Website: www.invernesshalfmarathon.co.uk
18/03/2012
The half marathon circuit moves on to Alloa with the first big event in the Central Belt. The race is in its 30th year so attests to the ongoing popularity of the event. Fairly fast first 6-7miles from Alloa out to Tillicoultry, in the shadow of the Ochil Hills. You then turn and run directly along the Hillfoots road through Alva, which can be a hard 3 miles if the wind is from the west, before heading back to Alloa. A couple of short but stiff climbs in the last two and a half miles will test how well you have paced it, but if you are too fresh, you probably saved too much!
Website: www.alloahalfmarathon.co.uk
15/04/2012 11:00am, Nevis Centre, Fort William
This is a superb low-key marathon. The antithesis of the city events but incredibly well organised by the local Lochaber Athletic club. 2012 will be the 29th edition. Starting in Fort William, behind the railway station, you may think it is going to be hilly, but on the contrary, it is relatively flat. It starts on the edge of Fort William and heads north towards Spean Bridge, before you turn on to the Mallaig road, the road to the isles. After passing over the Caledonian Canal at Corpach, with its impressive collection of loch gates, Neptunes Staircase, you are running alongside Loch Eil. The scenery is superb all the way to the turn around point just beyond. It is then a simple job of retracing your steps the 13 miles back to the shinty field in Fort William. The bonus on the way back is that the massive outline of Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain – behind you on the way out – is now straight in front of you, and cloud level permitting, gets bigger and better as you get closer to it on your return. Feed stations are every 5km for re-fueling. Time was you could just turn up and enter on the day, but its popularity and race logistics now are such that its 600 limit is usually reached early in the New Year.
Website: www.lochaberac.co.uk
28/04/2012
The Hoka Highland Fling has become the most popular ultra trail race in the Scottish running fixture list. Run on the “Lower” part of the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Fort William, depending on your age and start time, you have between 13 and 15 hours to complete the 53 mile trail. A race for some and an interesting challenge for others. Its popularity is down to the inherent enthusiasm of Murdo Mcdonald, who with Ellen McVey instigated and grew the event. John Duncan has taken over as race co-ordinator this year, and promises to continue the traditions of this well organised race. Fabulous scenery and great comeraderie. If the whole 53 miles is just too much for you, there is also a team relay where runners complete the route in 4 stages of approx 13 miles each. It is part of the
SUMS series of ultra distance trail races and this year incorporates the Scottish ultra trail championship.
Website: www.highlandflingrace.org
29/04/2012 Fritton Lake Outdoor Swim Centre, Fritton Lake, Church Lane, Fritton, Norfolk NR31 9HA
This UK Athletics (UKA) affiliated 5km road run is a brand new event for 2012 in the Active Outdoor Sport events calendar, and takes in the beautiful scenery of Somerleyton Hall and the surrounding grounds. This 1.5 lap course begins at Somerleyton Hall, and follows public roads around the Somerleyton Hall and Gardens estate. It is a fast, flat, 5K PB friendly course! Minimum age for participants in this event is 12 years on the day of the race.
Website: www.activeoutdoorsport.co.uk
07/05/2012 Cardiff
The popular Rose Inn Series is a series of 4 4-mile road races on Tuesday evenings in May, June, July and August. They start from the Rose Inn at Redwick (off M4, J23A).
Website: www.chepstowharriers.org.uk
19/05/2012 Durness Sutherland
Part of the week-long Cape Wrath Challenge, which features a week of events in this beautiful remote corner of Scotland. The week includes a road half marathon, a trail run, a multi-terrain run, a beach run, and the full marathon. You can enter the whole week of events or just pick and choose which ones you want to enter. The marathon has been measured by a UKA course measurer and has a unique feature in that it features a ferry crossing!
Website: www.capewrathchallenge.co.uk
27/05/2012 Edinburgh and East Lothian
Scotland’s largest marathon, and the flagship event of the weekend long Edinburgh Marathon Festival which also includes a half marathon, 5k, 10k and the
EMF marathon team relay, together with junior races and a Saturday breakfast run. A Runners World survey in 2008 ranked it as the fastest course in the UK. There are now dual starts to cope with the ever increasing numbers. After early miles in the city, the route heads out along the coast through Portobello, Musselburgh Prestonpans and Port Seton. After a short loop in the scenic grounds of Gosford House, the route returns to finish in Pinkie Park at Musselburgh. For 2012 they have reorganised the whole finish and reunion area, to solve some of the problems of 2011.
Website: www.edinburgh-marathon.com
10/06/2012 9:00am, Comrie, Perthshire
New race for 2012 organised by the local club Strathearn Harriers. This, like the Lochaber Marathon, should be one for marathon connoisseurs! If road running is your thing, why wouldn’t you want to go and run an event in beautiful scenic Strathearn in Perthshire? The profile looks like this will be a challenging undulating (rather than hilly), one loop course, but you will be running through such beautiful place names like Glen Artney, Drumchork wood and the River Earn valley with fabulous views at times across to the Ochils to the south, and the Perthshire hills to the north and west. The Harriers with their Famous Grouse 10k in July and the Comrie Hills relay in September, have built a good reputation for race organisation, with good solid events in the “organised by runners... for runners” tradition. You can be sure that whatever your goals or standard, you will have a great experience.
Website: www.strathearnharriers.org.uk
16/06/2012 Fritton, Norfolk
If you're looking for a friendly introduction to Triathlon, or a more challenging Olympic distance Tri with open water swimming, then the Fritton Lake Triathlon is a good race to consider. Over a weekend in June they organise a Super sprint, Sprint and Olympic Tri, in a beutiful location which is also welcoming to supporting families and has other attractions to keep kids happy. Well organised and friendly.
Online Entry »
Website: www.fritton-lake-triathlon.co.uk
01/09/2012 Aberfeldy, Perthshire
Another new event for 2012, which will feature a two-lap course, from Aberfeldy to Kenmore, at the eastern end of Loch Tay. Capitalising again on some breathtaking scenery, there will also be a half marathon.
Website: www.highlandperthshiremarathon.co.uk
01/09/2012 or 07/09/2012, Cooper Park, Elgin
Like Lochaber, an event that was started in the first mass marathon boom of the early 1980s. While many events have come and gone, this will be the 30th running of this event. It starts in Elgin and takes in one large beautiful loop of the Moray countryside. It meanders out to the coast at Burghhead through quiet country roads, flanked in September by acres and acres of fields either awaiting harvest or recently harvested. A stretch along the coast to Lossiemouth and its picturesque harbour and beaches before returning inland on more quiet country roads to Cooper Park in Elgin. It has grown to include a half marathon which starts at Gordounstoun School near half way and a 10km event which starts close to the 20 mile mark. A unique feature of the event is that to co-ordinate all mile markers, they appear in reverse order, as miles “to go” rather than miles covered – i.e. if you are running the marathon, the first mile mark you see is after 385 yards, when a sign says 26 miles to go, and so on.
Website: www.moraymarathon.com
09/09/2012 Cardiff
Taking place on 9/9/12, the Cardiff 10K is a road race starting and finishing at Cardiff City Hall.
Website: www.cardiff10k.com
22/09/2012
Try Fritton Lake Viking (middle distance) and Cross Triathlon, for a real challenge! The Cross starts with open water swim, then off road bike course and x-country run.
Online Entry »
Website: www.fritton-lake-triathlon.co.uk/
30/09/2012 Inverness
2012 will be the 11th running of the event. It is Scotland’s second largest marathon and is run on a point-to-point course on the south side of Loch Ness, from just beyond Whitebridge into Inverness. Runners are bussed to the start. Taking in open moorland, forests and of course the world famous Loch, this has to rank as one of the most scenic and beautiful courses and start locations in Great Britain. Although several thousand runners come together on the weekend in the capital of the highlands, to tackle not just the marathon but the concurrent 5km and 10km events, the organisers have managed to establish a family feel about the event.
Website: www.lochnessmarathon.com
14/10/2012 9am, Cardiff
The Cardiff Half Marathon attracts thousands of runners, with over 15,000 entering the 2011 Race. Run and Become are the Official Retailer.
Website: www.cardiffhalfmarathon.co.uk