For all runners, races serve a very important purpose. For all athletes with aspirations of becoming national or Olympic champions, they are the ultimate test of ability and the effectiveness of training. For the more casual runner they can be an opportunity to add a bit of competitiveness against friends or colleagues, meet new people, or simply record an official time.

There is a wealth of race meets all around the country, with varying degrees of standard, importance and difficulty, and it can be difficult for runners to decide which one to take part in without being over- or underwhelmed.

We have therefore compiled a list of popular road and cross-country races, both around the country and abroad, as a guide for those who are struggling to choose a race to go for.

We have chosen 5 different categories to order races. In each category, the races are sorted roughly in order of difficulty, with those at the top being more suitable for first-timers, and those further down only recommended for extreme long-distance and competitive runners.

Please choose a category:

1. UK Road Races
2. Other UK Races
3. World Road Races
4. Other World Races
5. UK Track Races
6. Parkrun

We are also hoping to use feedback from our members to create race profiles and recommendations. If you have competed in one of the races listed, or feel that an important one has been left out, please feel free to email us with your experiences.