6 Of The Best Ways to Find New Races

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that I am a little bit addicted to running races (let’s be honest, I also love the medals too!). I get asked quite a lot how I find new races so I’ve put together some ways that I find great ones and some sites that I use frequently.

1. Look at your maps

One of the most effective ways I’ve found races that are local to me is to look at the maps app on my iphone and write down a list of towns that are close to me. Once I’ve got a little list of places I’ll head on over to Google and type in the town name followed by the distance I’m looking for (which is usually 10K). For example, on the screenshot below I’d search for Fishponds 10k, Frenchay 10k, Filton 10k, Bedminster 10k and so on. I’ve found many races local to me that I never knew existed in this way.

2. Look to your local running club

Often people who are affiliated with a running club will go to races together, that is after all a shared interest for everyone there! This is a great way to find new races and have moral support at the same time, which is especially great if you’re new to running and races. If you’re also a member of a running club you can get an affiliate discount on most races.

3. Take to social media

My favourite social media platform is Instagram and, if you didn’t already know, there’s a whole running community on there. Most of my followers are people who are local to me or have attended races that I have so I’m always taking an interest when they post races that they’ve been to (especially if it’s got a particularly appealing medal!). They can also tell you what they thought of it and whether they’d recommend the race itself.

I also have a Twitter and Facebook account for posting all things running related, however, I haven’t found these as effective for sourcing races but nonetheless there are communities here too.

4. Source running club websites

Even if you’re not part of a running club, check out the websites of clubs near to you. Sometimes they’ll have links to local races and some clubs will actually put on their own races so have a look at these.

5. parkrun

While parkrun isn’t a race as such, it’s worth noting that if you enjoy the experience of being part of a race all for free then check out the parkrun app. It will give you full details of all parkruns, not just in your area but all over the globe, so if you are inclined while on your travels, have a look here for your running fix.

6. Websites

Here’s a list of some great websites that I like to peruse if I’m on the hunt for a new race.

www.runbritain.com ~ this website is a great resource for all kinds of races, distances and areas, you’re sure to find a new race here for sure.

www.timeoutdoors.com ~ again, great resource based on a search criteria. I’ve also found many races on this site that I haven’t been able to find anywhere else

www.fabian4.co.uk ~ I don’t find this the easiest site to use but they often have some quirky races listed on here. Many of the races I attended last year were from this site.

www.thrunningbug.com ~ handy for finding bigger and further afield races.

www.goodrunguide.co.uk ~ they’ve recently upgraded this site as it was quite difficult to use before, however, they’ve made it much easier to search for races and covers the whole country.

Races in the South West England
As this is where I live, I thought it would be pertinent to include the websites that I use all the time to find races local to me. Many of these are parts of a series and run by the same organiser and they do many different terrains and distances.

www.southernrunninguide.com ~ not only good for finding races, it’s also a great resource for all things running.

www.aspirerunningevents.co.uk ~ I’ve done several of the races in this series and they do mostly trail runs with stunning views.

www.relishrunningracescom ~ very well organised races and, again, races with stunning views off the beaten track. They often have multiple race distances on the same day from 5k all the way up to marathon.

If you have any other ways to find races local to you, let me know any tips you may have below.