There's plenty of railway heritage behind the name when The East Coast Chuffer returns to Scarborough on Sunday 4 October, with runners heading out along a route once used by trains rather than trail shoes.

Organised by It's Grim Up North Running, the event starts from Peasholm Park and uses the Cinder Track, the former railway line running north from Scarborough. Its traffic-free setting provides a distinctive mixture of coastal views, woodland and the remnants of the route's railway past.

Runners can choose from 10K, Half Marathon, 20 Mile and Marathon distances, making the Chuffer as much about choosing your own journey as reaching a particular finish line. The 10K starts at 9:00am and the Half Marathon at 10:00am, while the longer 20 Mile and Marathon challenges get under way at 8:30am.

The longer races make good use of the out-and-back format. Half Marathon runners complete two circuits of a 6.7-mile route, with Marathon runners taking it on four times, while checkpoints approximately every three miles provide support along the way.

That repeated out-and-back running also creates opportunities for participants tackling different distances to encounter and encourage each other during the event, something previous runners have highlighted alongside the friendly marshals and relaxed atmosphere.

With Peasholm Park providing the Scarborough base and the historic Cinder Track supplying the journey, The East Coast Chuffer offers an unusual way to spend an autumn Sunday beside the North Yorkshire coast. And, appropriately enough, everyone completing the trip gets some Grim Bling at the terminus.

Entries are available now via the runABC race hub here.

Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay