Since we launched Good Run Guide just over 4 years ago, one of the main purposes of the site has been to research, run and map out the best running routes in the U.K.  So, we thought that to celebrate our anniversary we would attempt to pick out our top 10 favourite routes.  The list follows in our first article.

When we look back at all our routes it just brings back how many beautiful places we have visited during our quest to find the perfect run!   However, I'm sure there are many more amazing routes to discover so please keep those suggestions coming in.  Thank you to all of you who have contributed with suggestions and special thanks go to Oliver Bratton, Alistair Morris and Danny Rea who have been a great help in finding and checking out some great routes in their own areas.

We currently have nearly 600 un-published suggested routes which do not have directions and need checking out, so if you are interested in helping out then please send me an email.

Louise at GRG
www.GoodRunGuide.co.uk

Our Top Ten Routes

Site News

Last month we extended our Training Log to provide the option of tracking how many Calories you burn.  Lots of runners now use GPS devices which estimate the Calories burned from the data collected during your run, but we've also provided a Calorie Calculator that you can use when logging your run online.  Once you start recording how many Calories you burn, you can then track the totals in your stats and graphs.  If you want to read more about running and weight control, take a look at our article on Weight Management.

Other significant developments during the last month have included:

• New 'Race Routes' section - a quick way to find race routes and to compare how hilly they are!
  
  
• Redesigned Race Diary - now in a more easy to use calendar format.
  
  
• New 'Import GPS File' tool - to import both routes and exercise data to your Training Log.
  
  
• Faster generation of Hill Profiles - now generated directly from data on our own server.

As always, if you have any feedback about changes to the site or have a suggestion you would like to put forward, please let us know.

Bexhill 5K Race Report

By GRG Member Martin Allen - a first 5K experience!


Bexhill 5K
Venue: Bexhill On Sea, East Sussex, UK
Start time: 7:00pm

It was cool but not cold; cloudy but not wet. The wind was negligible - even more impressive given we were running along the seafront promenade. Perfect running conditions.


Started off with kiddies races and the under 7s (I think) running 500m firstly. One little boy aged 2 was real hero. Miles behind with mum. Running with real purpose and conviction - concentration on his little face. Fell once but no tears. Ran entire distance to massive cheers.


Main event. Deliberately set off two-thirds of the way down to not trouble the good runners. Didn’t move much from there in all honesty. Paced myself but without Km markers I couldn’t do splits. Smiled for the camera approaching half-way alongside a speedy older lady and a man in an anorak!? Passed halfway in 13:40. Grabbed water and 2 slurps. Set off on second circuit and upped pace pulling away from first-lap pacers and picking off about 5 or 6 people. Still feeling OK. Reached top turn, beginning to labour a bit now - stitch beginning to appear. Encouragement from marshal "Good Running Number 22!" Put head down for final 1.25km and stared at my feet whizzing round. 500 metres from line, started to run as hard as I could. Strange facial expressions. Pain everywhere. Finished without looking at time. Could see it was 26 something.... but heard man shout "42" as I ran through... so assume that was my time.

Recovered breath and realised Garmin still running - Doh! Said 26:59 when I stopped it and that was about 20 seconds after finishing. So 26:42 seems logical.
Recovered remarkably quickly. Enjoyed experience immensely and can't wait for next one.

Mark Cooper Runs Europe

At the time of writing, Mark has now successfuly completed 31 marathons in only 35 days to reach Le Bruas in the Rhone region of France.  What is even more amazing is that all his marathons have been completed in seriously good times! You can check out his progress in his attempt to run 50 marathons in 56 days, starting in Amsterdam and finishing in Barclona,  at www.runwithmark.com.  Mark is raising money for Headway, a charity that provides support for people who have suffered a head injury or some other form of brain injury, such as stroke or brain haemorrhage.

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 GPS located route maps on your phone

Try it out now at m.goodrunguide.co.uk