Great British beach activities: 10 best coastal runs

For pedigree running

The Great North Run, Tyne & Wear

If you want to enter the world's biggest half-marathon (in 2009, on 20 September), put your name down for the Great North Run. It attracts more than 50,000 entrants and comprises a gruelling circuit starting in Newcastle before crossing the famous Tyne Bridge. Competitors then run through Gateshead and South Tyneside before finishing on the dramatic South Shields coast (www.greatrun.org).

You've missed this year's deadline, but there's always next year...