It's never too early to set your new year goals, and if a marathon is just a bit too 'mainstream' for you then how about taking on an entire race series instead? The Trail Runner Race Series features four fantastic off-road events in and around the north-east all set around beautiful and accessible locations and would be a challenge for any runner in 2022.

Not an extreme obstacle course in sight, the Winter Wipeout (9 January)  is in fact a half marathon (ish) which takes participants to one of the highest points in Northumberland and back again. Whatever the weather. Previous years have had snow, sleet, bogs, high winds and organsisers say there is 'always a little bit of special sauce thrown in!'.

Not content with all that, when runners get back to base they are dunked in a river before being warmed up with a hot cup of soup!

If that tickles your fancy then next up The Duergar Nightcrawler is really going to appeal. A 10 mile night trail run in the Simonside Hills (one of the most beautiful and fabled areas of Northumberland) this event offers something for runners with a taste for fear.

It's not just the dark that brings the fear factor - the dwarfs of Simonside, or Duergar, are rumoured to take satisfaction in leading travellers astray after nightfall. Lighting their torches, they stay ahead of confused visitors, leading them deeper into the often pitch black Northumberland wilderness until they fall into a bog or plunge from a precipice to their demise. Creepy!

Maintaining the scream theme, Hell In The Woods takes place on 6 March. Flowing rivers, steep-sided trails, mud, tree branches leaning in from all sides and burning legs are par the course at this event - it's a tricky one and one that will bring with it an amazing sense of achievement.

Last up in June is the Cragside Trail Runner 10 Mile which takes place on the Cragside Estate - home to over 7 million trees including a 140-year-old Scots pine that has been declared the tallest in the UK. With 40 miles of footpaths and trails winding through woodland, it's another cracker of a trail race.

To find out more about the race series head to the Cold Brew Events website.

Image: Winter Wipeout website