Our picks of the month - November
Terrifyingly, it's time to start thinking about spring. Yes, spring. Standard places for both the Brighton and Bath Half Marathons have sold out, and training for the London Marathon is well underway. If you want to get doing in 2012 then it's high time you start planning.
But thankfully for those of us who are still struggling to get our heads around Christmas, there are plenty of smaller and less main-stream events open to us right now. So whether you're looking for some festive fun or a more serious challenge for 2012, take a look at the selection below for some inspiration, and get doing!
Santa Runs: Nationwide; throughout December
Dress up in the beloved red and white suit and join 1,000’s of others running, running, running around your local park. There are dozens of such events going on around the country, find one near you on this great event listing. My personal favourite is Santa's Heveningham Hell Run on 11th December.
New Year’s Day swim: Nationwide, 1st January 2012
Lord knows why we get such pleasure from pain and misery, but this is a definite example of that inexplicable human condition. Join swimmers around the world in plunging into your nearest pool of icy winter water. Saudersfoot in Pembrokshire and Whitely Bay in Tyneside traditionally see 1000’s of swimemrs raising incredible sponsorship.
Mud Runner Icebreaker: Herefordshire, 19th February 2012
"Break the ice and smash away those winter blues" with this severe winter duathlon - with the tag line "nothing tougher", this isn't for the faint hearted. Having recently done the Mud Runner Classic, I can vouch for how friendly, helpful, and entertaining the whole event was. 10km of arduous trail running followed by 20km tough mountain biking and then a cheeky 3km run - are you tough enough?!
Reading Half Marathon: Reading, 1st April 2012
There's nothing quite like the atmosphere created by 10,000's of runners being cheered by 100,000's supporters, and that's exactly what the Reading Half Marathon offers. Almost all of the 16,500 places have sold out, so get booking fast!
Greater Manchester Marathon: Trafford, 29th April 2012
After a 10 year absence, the Greater Manchester Marathon is returning in 2012, with around 5,000 runners taking to the streets. Set to be one of the the worlds flattest marathons, it's ideal for any of you hill-phobics.
Whatever you decide to do, please use it to support us and our cause by setting up a sponsorship page and encouraging your friends to 'do'. Every extra sponsor raiser is enormously valuable to us.
There are plenty more ideas on our calendar of challenges, and if you have any to recommend, we’d love to hear about them. Drop us a line on .