THE BIG QUESTION

YOU’RE PERFECTLY HAPPY RUNNING WHEN AND WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE IT – SO WHY RACE?

Looking for your next running challenge? Check out these top 100 winter and spring 2017 races from around the UK and overseas. From 5Ks to ultras, and everything in between, you won’t want to miss these events…

Welcome to the Ultimate Race Guide! If this is the first time you’ve opened one of our guides, and you’ve never raced before, you might be wondering whether racing is all it’s cracked up to be. It might bring back haunting memories of school sports days, being forced to pitch yourself against your classmates, knowing you’d come last. Or you might just be happy as you are, running your favourite routes, and never having to get stressed if you miss a session. But racing doesn’t have to be stressful – you can approach it however you like. Here are our top seven reasons why you should enter an event this year.

ADD STRUCTURE

Running as and when you feel like it is a wonderfully freeing experience, offering you a space to clear your head and keep your fitness ticking over. Once you enter a race, though, you are forced to give your training a bit more structure. You don’t have to run to a strict timetable. You’ll just follow a gradually progressing training plan that sees you build distance and speed each week. And following a plan like that can actually make training easier: you don’t have to think of a run to do, because it’s decided by your training plan. Most training plans will also add variety into your running – ideal if you’ve got into the habit of doing the same route or distance each time you go out.