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runners at Great Birmingham 10K

Still time for Great Birmingham 10K

The Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K is the Midland's top spring event and the first leg of a great double with October's prestige half marathon - the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham Run. This year race organisers Great Run are promising another great staging of this classic city 10k.

Race day is Sunday 26 May, a good slot on the calendar, as it means the bulk of your training is in optimal running weather - cool and fresh with the added bonus of improving temperatures and lengthening days. Event day is also on the second May Bank Holiday weekend so put in the hard work in the morning, chill out for the rest of the day and look forward to an easy Monday.

There are 12 weeks until the big day so still plenty of time to get ready and to join in the fun in May (check out our beginner-friendly 10K plan on runABC Midlands advice). And fun and excitement are the key notes of the Great Birmingham 10K which enjoys a brilliant and noisy support around the course from crowds of cheering spectators, especially if you are running in charity colours or fancy dress!

Runners in Birmingham have great training resources too in the shape of scenic routes around Edgbaston Reservoir, along Harborne Walkway and in Cannon Hill and Sutton parks. Check out some of the city's many runner-friendly routes at the Great Run website.

If you're looking for company or focus for your training schedule then you'll find lots of friendly faces (and free weekly 2k and 5k timed runs) at Birmingham's three Great Run Locals at Ley Hill, the Vale on the university campus and Edgbaston. Full details here.

If your runs take you through leafy Edgbaston and on to the canal at Birmingham’s Vale Village expect to see lots of students out training. A feature of this year's Great Run series is their partnerships with local universities and the Great Birmingham 10K has linked up with the University of Birmingham, Aston University and Birmingham City University.

Each will have hundreds of runners and walkers wearing their colours with pride after the universities pledged to get staff and students active this year. There is also an open invitation to alumni of the universities to join them on the day and show their support.

One ex-student who is looking forward to Sunday 26 May is Ben Cartwright. Ben is using the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K as part of a schedule to get him to peak physical condition as he bids to become the West Midlands’ first ever astronaut. 23-year-old Aston University graduate Ben, from Halesowen, is hoping to sign up for the European Space Agency’s astronaut selection process when it next opens for applications.

FIND OUT MORE OR ENTER THE SIMPLYHEALTH GREAT BIRMINGHAM 10K AT THE EVENT WEBSITE

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