Runners can look forward to blowing away the post-festive cobwebs at the North Tyneside Trail, which takes place on 4 January. This 12K multi-terrain run offers a challenging and scenic route that showcases some of the area’s best coastal and countryside views.

Starting on the beach at Watts Slope and finishing with a lap of the running track at Churchill Playing Fields, the course takes participants along Whitley Bay’s sands, over clifftops and coastal paths to Seaton Sluice, through the muddy trails of Holywell Dene and along the Waggonways before finishing back at the North Shields Poly clubhouse.

Organisers promise another year of fun and a few familiar tests. They say: "Once again for 2026 everyone will be running across the beach, no going the easy route through the carpark! But of course the choice of up the first hill or the last hill in Holywell Dene is still all yours, it doesn't matter which one you go for as either way there's a hill and you gotta get to the top!"

Race HQ is based at the North Shields Poly clubhouse at Churchill Playing Fields, just a short stroll from the seafront start line near the War Memorial at Spanish City. After crossing the finish line, participants will be welcomed back with hot and cold drinks and an array of homemade cakes, scones, flapjacks and brownies, a reward well worth running for!

Medals are so last season, organisers told us: "We've gone crazy and decided to hell with medals! This year it's all about buffs, I mean who doesn't love a buff? Stick it on your head like a pirate or Hulk Hogan, wear it on your wrist flapping around like a new romantic or dangle it from your back pocket and imagine your Morrissey. The options are endless!"

If you'd like to know more, visit the North Tyneside Trail entry page.

Image: North Tyneside Trail Facebook