TEAMS of workmates, students and friends will be lining up alongside experienced club athletes for the East Coast Run. More than 400 entrants are expected to wind their way along the 10km course taking in Great Yarmouth town centre and seafront.

TEAMS of workmates, students and friends will be lining up alongside experienced club athletes for the East Coast Run.

More than 400 entrants are expected to wind their way along the 10km course taking in Great Yarmouth town centre and seafront.

Organised by Great Yarmouth Road Runners, the race on Sunday, October 26, is a chance for all to get fit and active.

Amongst those taking part are a team of runners from race sponsors Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft NHS.

The group, of 17, have been putting in the hours, jogging and working out in the gym to prepare for the run.

Abi Howes, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft NHS workplace health promotion practitioner, has been encouraging colleagues to get fit and active.

She said: “The team is a mixture of abilities, there is a club runner and others will be walking and jogging along the course.

“The age range is from 23 to mid 50s, taking part is good for morale building and people are doing it both to raise money for charity and their own sense of achievement.

“We are promoting a campaign called Fit for Business, designed to make people in the workplace fitter, healthier and happier.

“The first thing is to get the initiative up and running in the NHS and then promote it elsewhere, so it is do as we do, not do as we say.”

Starting and finishing in the Market Place, the course will wind through the historic town centre and along the Golden Mile.

Everyone crossing the finishing line will be presented with a special commemorative charter seal medal, made by Ernie Childs of Great Yarmouth Potteries- a one-off.

Borough council culture, sport and leisure manager Marie Hartley said: “This is not just for serious runners, but a chance for workmates, students or friends to team up and have some fun getting fit for what we hope will be a memorable occasion.”

Ex-Olympian and Chicago Marathon winner Paul Evans has been recruited to provide a training programme and advice for novice runners.

Paul has provided a weekly training schedule and fitness tips in the Mercury, official media partner for the East Coast Run.

The event is being sponsored by NHS Yarmouth and Waveney with support from Active Norfolk, the GY Sports, Cultural and Town Centre Partnerships and Yarmouth Sport and Leisure Trust.

An entry form is published in this week's paper and fees are £8 for club members and £10 for non-club members.

wFor more details visit www.gyrr.co.uk or call race director Karen Manning on 01493 302179.

Training Plan

Please note this training plan is for aimed at road runners who ran and take exercise on a regular bases, all people following this plan should seek medical advice form there doctor before embarking on this programme.

When following the training programme, all training should begin with 5 min stretching & Jogging, paying particular notice of lower limbs, Hamstrings, calfs etc, each session should end with 5 min warm down, this will help you recover quicker, enabling you to be fresher for the next session.

Week 6

Monday, Oct 20 - Day off

Tuesday, Oct 21 - 20 min easy

Wednesday, Oct 22 - 20 min easy

Thursday, Oct 23 - 15 min easy

Friday, Oct 24 - Day off or 10 min easy

Saturday, Oct 25 - Day off

Sunday, Oct 26 - Race day (get there in plenty off time, GOOD LUCK !)