Redcar's seafront roads will fill with runners again on Sunday 27 September when the Redcar Running Festival returns with three distances aimed at everyone from young runners and families to experienced half-marathoners.
The programme includes a 3K Young Athletes Race and fun run, the Zetland 10K and the Redcar Half Marathon. All three courses are certified by the of UK Course Measurers and are run on tarmac roads closed to vehicles.
The 3K starts at 9.15am, while the half marathon begins at 10am. Organisers New Marske Harriers AC say every 3K finisher will receive a medal, while the longer races include an event T-shirt.
That shirt has a particularly Redcar detail this year. New Marske Harriers is marking its 40th year and the design looks back at the area's industrial history, featuring the former Redcar Blast Furnace in the background and a runner on the beach inspired by a 1997 Runner's World feature on club vice-president Tony Livingston.
The festival is also broad in who it invites onto the start line. The 3K fun run is open from age four and parents can run alongside their children, while the 10K and half marathon give club runners and recreational runners a chance to race on certified closed-road courses.
Redcar & Cleveland's official visitor site lists the wider festival window as 9am to 3pm. Entries are being handled through EntryCentral, with online entry currently open and scheduled to close on 20 September unless places fill sooner.
A big road race changes the feel of a town for a few hours. There are the people chasing times, but also families waiting at barriers, volunteers, first-time runners and the steady stream of strangers shouting encouragement at people whose names they have just read from a vest. Redcar gets all of that again next month, with a bit of local steel history stitched into the day too.
: Event details were checked against Enjoy Redcar & Cleveland and the New Marske Harriers / EntryCentral race listing.