Fun run

Getting into running can be a great way to give something back to the community around you. Many races are run for charity and one of the better known examples of this is the London Marathon (www.london-marathon.co.uk), which raises money for two charities each April. Two official charities are nominated every year. Another great example is the annual Race For Life (www.raceforlife.org), which takes place across the country each summer and raises money for breast cancer charities.

There are also some seriously wacky races out there to put the fun back into running! In the Great Gorilla Run (www.gorillas.org), as many as a thousand entrants run seven kilometres dressed as gorillas, all in name of charity. As crazy as it might sound, the Great Gorilla Run is fast becoming the bandwagon to jump on in the London running scene.

The fun day in September is all in aid of the Gorilla Organisation, which raises money to help save the remaining 700 mountain gorillas left in the wild. Mountain gorillas are now on the critically endangered list.

Registration for the Great Gorilla Run costs £100, and you have to raise at least £400 for charity but there is support available to help you achieve this and at the end of it all you'll get to keep the gorilla suit! If you want to sign up later for a second race you'll get a 50 per cent discount on the registration fee.

In East Anglia, December 2006 saw the first ever Santa Run which raised money for EACH (East Anglia Children's Hospices, www.each.org.uk). The run is one mile and entrants are required to run in a full Santa outfit to get into the Christmas spirit!

The registration fee is £10 and the obligatory Santa outfit is yours for an extra £5 if you buy it at the same time as registering. Unfortunately, one size fits all, so you'll probably need to make some adjustments! There are Santa Runs in Bury St Edmonds (2 December), Colchester (9 December) and Cambridge (16 December).

There are lots of reasons to dust off your trainers and get running this year. If the health and social benefits don't grab you, think about doing it for charity and giving something back to those in need.

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