Starting and finishing at Coniston Hall Landing Point on the shores of Coniston Water, this marathon consists of a complete circuit of Coniston Water along well marked and marshalled footpaths and bridleways.

Taking in the idyllic beauty spot of Tarn Hows and the elevated Beacon Tarn the course gives panoramic views of Lake Coniston and the surrounding peaks of the Old Man, Swirl How, Wetherlam and Dow Crags.

Described by Runners’ World magazine as ‘the most scenic trail Marathon in Britain’

For Dave Parkin this was his 3rd running of the race as he attempted to break the 4 minute barrier for the first time in this extremely challenging race. He finished comfortably under his 4 hour target in a time of 3:56.44, placing him 23rd overall and 9th in his age category.

The race was won by Joel Jameson in a time of 3:03.20 and 210 runners finished the race.

This was my third attempt to break the 4hr mark on the Coniston Trail Marathon, having previously run 4:27 and 4:10.

I had been out with injury for a critical period of my training this year and so expectations weren’t high but having learnt much about hydration and pace on my previous two outings, things seemed to go well from the start.

As many marathon runners can attest, I had a great feeling of it being ‘in the bag’ at the 20 mile mark, only to completely blow up by 23 miles thinking I couldn’t even finish, let alone hit my target time.

This feeling is particularly exacerbated on this course as you celebrate reaching 20 miles with a cruel 600ft climb up a muddy, rocky hillside and then through a final bog which saps any energy you still have.

Thankfully, my excellent support crew of Parkin girls (x3) managed to find me at the final road crossing and give me a kick up the proverbial and I staggered home in 3:56, utterly delighted and swearing never to do anything so ridiculous again. I even managed to avoid the tree near the finish which still has a head shaped dent in it from my collision two years ago, so not only finishing, but staying upright as well made it a day to remember…!

For those looking for a marathon with a difference, this is definitely one to consider – reputed to be one of the most beautiful in the country, it is nearly all off-road, has around 3000ft of ascent and a lot of challenging, mixed terrain underfoot. But to compensate for the difficulties it has views to die for and is fabulously organised and supported.

Report – David Jones.

The Walled City Marathon sees athletes from Ireland, Britain and across the world arrive in Derry / Londonderry to compete over a stunning 26.2 mile course that takes in all the sights and sounds of the city.

The challenging route follows the dynamic neighbourhoods of the city, the old rural villages, the banks of the meandering River Foyle and the city’s famous bridges before returning to the Walled City for a finish in the historic Guildhall Square.

Having completed in the 107 mile Dublin2Belfast Ultra at the end of March,Tara Lambert thought it time to revisit the Emerald Isle for the relatively short 26.2 mile Walled City Marathon.

As a measure of the improvement this endurance runner has made over the last 12 months, her time this year of 3:53.39 was over 45 minutes quicker than her time last year.

Tara finished in 286th place overall, was the 32nd female finisher and 9th in her age category.

The winner was Eric Koech in a time of 2:34.19 and the first female finisher ,in 24th place with a time of 3:03.35 was Natalie Hall. 821 runners completed the course.

Taking place in the Cotswold Hills surrounding the pretty village of Tysoe, the picturesque Windmill Run offers competitors the option of both 10km and 5km runs.

It is a largely off-road run that takes competitors up Tysoe’s Windmill Hill followed by a further climb through the Compton Wynyates Estate. The organisers say that if the hills don’t take your breath away, the picturesque scenery will.

Pearce, who clocked 46:07 to finish 19th overall and four minutes ahead of the second-placed woman, was one of 11 members of the club who took part in the 10km event at this popular local race.

The first of these was John Raby (15th – 45.26) followed by an in-form Pete Sugden (15 – 45.36) who was also 4th in his age group.

Ed Harrison (17th – 45.52) was followed by Martin Foster (18th – 45.56 ) who finished 5th in his age group.

Next was Rachel Pearce followed by the evergreen Malcolm Bowyer (21st – 46.22) who was 3rd in his age group, followed by Graham Hill (41st – 52.25)

Then it was the turn of the final three female runners from the club – Lesley Kirk (64th – 55.41), Suzi Graham (89th – 58.52) and Louise Stewart (125th – 1:06.15)

The race was won by Simon Wurr in a time of 38.09.

The club had just one competitor in the 5k race, John Butler, who finished in 38.21. He was 35th overall and 2nd in his age group.

The race consists of a small single circuit within a larger outer loop through the rolling Surrey countryside.

This year the race also incorporated the British Masters Athletic Federation 10 mile championship and it is this that attracted our very own International Masters athlete Phil Brennan. His time of 1:34.03 was sufficient to add yet another gold medal to his ever growing collection.

Commenting on the race Phil said “ The course was variously described as “flat “, “undulating” and “challenging “. The latter was correct as far as I was concerned. I was cruising to a reasonable time at five miles, then the hills, humidity and heat (25deg) and I began to seriously consider quitting. I finished in 1:34, five minutes longer than my overlong leg in the recent Hilly 100 but I did finish and got the gold medal”

The race was won by Tom Foster in a time of 53.35 and 514 runners completed the course