16 Best Summer Races
Our selection of the best, fastest, toughest, quirkiest and most enjoyable UK races this month
From trail runs and coastal marathons to night runs: we’ve got the lot
Last One Standing
Here’s one for real hardcore runners. The course is a 4.2-mile loop and you have an hour to complete it. Sounds pretty easy, doesn’t it? Except this is a race of endurance and smart pacing, not speed. Exceed the hour and you’re out. Fail to line up at the start line on the hour for the next lap and you’re out. The winner is whoever completes one final lap after everyone else has dropped out. Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, August 31, atlasrunning.co.uk
Survival of the Fittest – Yorkshire
Rat Race’s Survival of the Fittest obstacle courses have been on the go since 2008. Obstacles range from the fun (giant ball pool!) to the horrible (‘The Barracks’, complete with monkey bars and other miseryinducing devices) and the bizarre (‘The Washing Machine’ – we’re still not quite sure what it involves aside from getting you covered in foam). York, North Yorkshire, August 10, ratracesurvival.co.uk
Cybi Coastal Marathon 2019
The island of Ynys Cybi off Anglesey is the perfect size for a marathon. The route follows the coast clockwise around the island on a mixture of road, paths, beaches and fields, with a couple of cliffs and hills and a dash past the South Stack Lighthouse before the final ascent up Holyhead Mountain (220m). The views up there can be quite breathtaking, and the Wicklow Mountains might even be visible across the Irish Sea on a clear day. Holyhead, Anglesey, August 3, cybicoastalmarathon.co.uk