RACE
START LIST
THE START LIST
Our selection of the best, fastest, toughest, quirkiest and most enjoyable UK races this month
Key
St Magnus Marathon Kirkwall, Orkney, 3 July
Road
Trail
Urban
Rural
Flat
Hilly
This race, named after a Viking Earl of Orkney from the times when the archipelago was ruled by Norway, is a great way to discover one of the UK’s least-explored regions. It runs along the glorious windswept coast from Kirkwall to Birsay on the north-east edge of the main island of Orkney – from there, the next stop is Iceland. There’s also a 10K option taking runners in a loop from Birsay around the Loch of Boardhouse through the villages of Kirbuster and, er, Twatt. entrycentral.com
Lark Stoke Quad Challenge
Ultra North
Mickleton, Gloucestershire, 2 July
This 55K ultra does a pretty all-encompassing tour of the north-east, and has a little bit of everything you’d want from a race. There’s a number of properly isolated trails, some lovely scenery in the Derwent, a few challenging climbs, sections along road and tarmac and even visits to Newcastle and Gateshead with a turn-around on the iconic Gateshead Millennium Bridge. If that all sounds a bit much, go for the shorter 25K route, which cuts out the sections along the Tyne and leaves you with just countryside to enjoy. ultranorth.co.uk
An original concept here: this challenge takes one big hill and four routes to the top and lets runners decide how many of those four routes they want to take on. Conquer all four up-and-downs and you’ll cover around 24km with around 670m of ascent, and you can be quite sure that getting out of bed the next day won’t be fun. tempoevents.co.uk
Maverick Adidas Terrex Original Cotswolds
St Aidan’s 10K
Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, 2 July
This event is a quick 10K, taking place mostly on trails in St Aidan’s Country Park to the south east of Leeds. This area is renowned for its excellent birdspotting potential, from reed-lurking bitterns and sing-song skylarks to short-eared owls and hunting harriers. At this point, we should probably warn you to keep your eyes on the trail rather than gawping upwards at our avian friends. evensplits.events
A quality selection of events here, in a reliably lovely part of the country – so lovely, in fact, that it’s Britain’s biggest Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There’s a 22K, a 15K and a 7K, each with a challenging but manageable amount of elevation. They all follow hard-packed trails so no technical trail-running expertise is required, making this an event to target for road runners who are a little trail-curious. As a bonus, this area is full of interesting attractions, from Neolithic tombs to Roman villas. maverick-race.com
ALL RACES GOING AHEAD AT TIME OF GOING TO PRESS
092 RUNNERSWORLD.COM/UK JULY 2022
Swillington, Yorkshire, 8 July
The Westbury Wipeout Bristol, Gloucestershire, 4 July This event for kids aged between eight and 15 is not timed, so it’s all about fun, adventure and getting covered in as much mud as humanly possible. Your mucky progeny will rampage around the grounds of Blaise Castle Estate, taking on various obstacles such as scrambling up slopes, wading through water and picking a route through rocks and steps. Even though we’re over twice the age limit, we’re well and truly envious of those who get to participate in this event. westburyharriers.co.uk
Blaydon, Tyne & Wear, 16 July
Leeds 10K Leeds, Yorkshire, 3 July This is, by all accounts, one of the UK’s best urban 10K races. The course starts and finishes in the city centre and loops out into the northern suburbs – not the most exciting or scenic course we’ve ever seen, but all that takes a back seat to the atmosphere, the support and the enthusiastic crowds. Is there any better fuel for tiring legs than hundreds of strangers cheering you on? No, there isn’t. Not even bananas are better than that. The route is flat, so harness the raw power of those cheers to blast yourself to a well-earned PB. runforall.com
Brooksie’s Bash Trail Race Foremark, Derbyshire, 17 July A couple of laid-back events here that are suitable for all running abilities, starting and finishing in the grounds of the rather fancy Repton Prep school in Foremarke Hall. Both the 10-mile and the 5K races take place on gravel pathways, with the odd
