There are not many opportunities to race through the private grounds of Garendon Park, but Shepshed 7 opens them up to runners again on Sunday 1 November.

The established Leicestershire race starts from Iveshead School before heading onto a measured, traffic free course through the estate. The current route is a single undulating lap, with a mixture of surfaces adding a genuine multi terrain element to its seven miles.

Garendon gives the race an unusual backdrop. The estate stands on land once occupied by Garendon Abbey, a Cistercian monastery founded in 1133. Much of the abbey disappeared following the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but the wider estate subsequently developed its own collection of historic buildings and monuments.

For runners, however, the focus will be on negotiating seven autumn miles as quickly as possible. The course records provide formidable targets, with Shepshed Running Club's Tim Hartley holding the men's mark at exactly 36:00 and Kate Ramsey of Barrow Runners the women's record at 40:48.

The main race starts at 11:00am and is chip timed and fully marshalled, with a maximum field of 450. There is an extensive prize list covering overall, veteran and team categories, plus spot prizes and a commemorative T-shirt for finishers.

Younger runners and families can get involved too, with a Fun Run starting at 10:00am.

Shepshed 7 has a pleasingly simple formula: an unusual distance, an undulating traffic free course and access to a historic private estate for one autumn morning.

You can enter now via the runABC race hub.

Image courtesy Shepshed Running Club on Facebook.