It’s time to stop eating fruit cake and chocolate and start to get rid of that extra weight you’ve unaccountably put on over the past few weeks.  There’s a lot of races coming up, so you should be out there training, trying out your new running gear you got for Christmas.  I’m stuck inside, still coughing, so my new running shoes are still in the box.  Still, I hope to be out on Saturday, running the Hebden in Calderdale, as a lot of you will be too.  It’s a great warm-up race to get the year off to a good start.

Only 2 months till the Haworth Hobble, the first Runfurther race of the year.  It’s now open for entries, so get you name down asap.  The Fellsman, The Marlborough Downs Challenge and the Long Tour of Bradwell are also open for business, so you might as well enter those too while you’re at the keyboard.  Links to all the race websites are on the 2015 Races pages.

Other Ultra news:

1.  The Gritstone Grind is now open for entries.  This is a low-cost 35-mile race along the Gritstone Trail, which follows the edge of the Peak District hills in Cheshire.  The race is on 13 September, but you’ll need to get your entry in quickly if you want to run, as it fills up.  I haven’t run the race, but I’ve run the Gritstone Trail 3 times and can recommend it.

2.  Joe Faulkner, the organiser of the Tour de Helvellyn and Lakes 42 races has announced another race for 18 July, the Pennine 39.  No precise location announcement yet, and there’s nothing about it up on his website yet, so you’ll have to keep checking it for the announcement.  It’s bound to be a good race.

Andy