The Start List The best UK races to enter in July

THE START LIST

Our selection of the best, fastest, toughest, quirkiest and most enjoyable UK races this month

Key

Road

Trail

Urban

Rural

Flat

Hilly

St Magnus Marathon

Kirkwall, Orkney, 3 July

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 aroundtheLochofBoardhousethrough the villages of Kirbuster and, er, Twatt. entrycentral.com

Maverick Adidas Terrex Original Cotswolds

Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, 2 July

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

A L L R A C E S G O I N G A H E A D AT T I M E O F G O I N G T O P R E S S

Lark Stoke Quad Challenge

Mickleton, Gloucestershire, 2 July

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

St Aidan’s 10K

Swillington, Yorkshire, 8 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

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

Ultra North

Blaydon, Tyne&Wear, 16 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

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

section on roads here and there. This is a plastic-free event (we’re so happy to see more and more of these popping up on the running calendar), so you’ll need to bring your own folding cup if you want to avail yourself of the hydration stations along the way. peakrunning.co.uk

Wye Valley Tunnel Run

Sedbury, Gloucestershire, 17 July

There’s a 6K, 10K and half marathon on offer here, but note that the 6K distance doesn’t actually include this race’s main attraction: the rather murky but nonetheless thrilling Tidenham Tunnel. This 1km tunnel under the limestone hills is actually home to a bat colony, which means the lighting has to remain very low. The first few seconds after entering will be quite a shock, but your eyes will adjust quickly to help you identify the gentle curves of the path before you emerge back out into what will definitely feel like blazing sunshine–even if it’s overcast and rainy. relishrunningraces.com

The Highlander, Last One Standing

Blair Atholl, Perthshire, 23 July

Your training for this endurance event simply must include watching the 1986 film Highlander, in which French-American Christopher Lambert plays an immortal Scottish warrior and, confusingly, real-life Scotsman Sean Connery plays an Egyptian immortal called Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez. The concept for this race involves a lot less beheading than the film, but in principle remains the same: there can be only one. Runners have one hour to run the 6.7km loop, and must continue doing so until either they fall over, or everyone else has fallen over. entrycentral.com

RW POLL

There are no more travel restrictions, so will you be travelling abroad for a race?

25%

Yes

68%

No

7%

Undecided

Based on a Twitter poll with 263 votes Conwy, Conwy, 17 July

If the sand at the start of this race doesn’t squash your PB dreams, the rocky uphills later on probably will. Tough terrain aside, this event has a lot going for it: north Wales is gorgeous and you’ll get a fabulous view of Conwy from Mynydd y Dref, plus a sweet downhill back into town. Don’t forget: you’ll have to deal with that sand again to get to the finish. runwales.com

Gullion Way Ultra

Newry, County Down, 3 July

All 64km of this event will be entirely without signs, waymarkings and feed stations. Apart from water refill stations, you’ll be self-sufficient and rely on waterproof instructions provided by the organisers to find your way from Newry, around the countryside of south County Armagh and County Down and back to Newry via peaks including Slieve Gullion. The challenge is epic, but so too is the adventure–and the scenery. werunwildni.com

Race to the Stones

Lewknor, Oxfordshire, 9-10 July

Ultrarunning is growing in popularity, but it remains something of a niche activity. This event, however, is probably the UK’s closest ultra event to the mainstream. There are a couple of excellent reasons for its appeal: the 100K route passes through some of Britain’s very best countryside and takes in some unique sights, including Uffington White Horse and Avebury Stone Circle, and the event structure allows for a gentler introduction to ultrarunning with two 50K options if the 100K feels too much. thresholdtrailseries.com

RWONLINE RACE LISTINGS

Thirsty for more? Go to runnersworld. com/uk and click ‘Events’ for the UK’s most comprehensive race database, where you can search over 4,500 races by location, terrain, distance and more.

Montane Lakeland 100

Coniston, Cumbria, 29-31 July

One look at the elevation profile for this event was enough to send us whimpering into a corner, but there are many runners out there made of stern enough stuff to take on this incredible challenge. It’s a 105-mile loop of the Lake District with (gulp) around 6,300m of ascent in total. Even the ‘easy’ version is terrifying: 50 miles with around 3,100m of climbing. Starting and ending in pretty Coniston, your odyssey will finish mercifully close to a pub and a fish and chip shop. lakeland100.com

Great Glen Ultra

Corpach, Argyllshire, 2 July

With a 1am start time, it’s hard to know whether this event favours the early birds or the night owls. And having wings would certainly help: this is an arduous 116km race along the Great Glen Way from just outside Fort William to Inverness, with all the hard climbing (around 2,591m) coming in the second half of the event. There are six checkpoints along the way, each with a strict cut-off, meaning that every year at least a few competitors don’t make it all the way to the finish. runyarocket.com