THE latest route supplied by Mark Jones of the Swindon Striders running group begins and ends at the Link Centre and covers 6.2 miles.

He rates it as particularly useful for runners who are getting ready for next month’s Swindon Half Marathon.

From the Link Centre, head out on the Link Avenue path towards Ashington Way.

Cross Ashington Way and continue on the footpath.

Turn right on to Mannington Lane and continue along the path, passing through the underpass beneath Great Western Way.

Continue along the footpath running parallel to Wootton Bassett Road.

Veer right at the roundabout by the Esso garage and continue along Kingshill Road.

Turn left in to William Street and then right in to Stanmore Street.

Take the steep climb following the road round to the left. This will take you on to Radnor Street.

Continue along Radnor Street then turn right into Clifton Street.

Continue up this road, turning left on to the top of Kingshill Road.

Continue along Bath Road, turn right into Quarry Road and then pass through the Town Gardens.

Come out on to Springfield Road and turn right before carrying on along Westlecot Road.

Turn right in to The Mall continue until you reach Okus Road.

Turn left and continue along Okus Road before turning right in to Bankside.

After a few metres, take the marked footpath on the right which takes you in turn on to Grosvenor Road.

Turn left in to Sunnyside Avenue. At the bottom, take a right back on to Kingshill Road.

Next, turn left and head back along Wootton Bassett Road.

Ensure you are on the right side of the road to go back through the underpass at Mannington Roundabout.

Retrace your route back to the Link Centre.

Mark said: “This is a hilly one but good training for people preparing for the Swindon Half Marathon in September.

“People need to start thinking about upping their mileage now if they are going to tackle the 13.1 mile route on Sunday, September 22.

“It’s best to start increasing the miles by one mile a week - but make sure you take it steady and listen to your body in terms of how you feel.

“For example, a runner averaging six miles per run should increase to seven next week, eight the following and so on up to 10 or 11 miles. This can be the maximum because if you can train and run for 11 miles you can do the extra 2.1 miles on the big day of the race.

“Some people like to train for the full distance but that’s their choice. In my opinion, you don’t need to run a half marathon in training to run a half marathon on the day.

“Also, I would urge all runners to get behind this race as this could be the last half marathon in Swindon. Support your local town and run.”

A CLUB FOR ALL ABILITIES AND SEASONS

Although some Striders are elite runners, the club is for people of all abilities and at all stages of their running careers.

There are three sub-groups of runners in the Striders.

The first is for those who can run a mile in 11 or 12 minutes - people probably just getting started in running. The second is for people capable of running a nine-minute mile and the third is for runners described by Swindon Striders Secretary Mark Jones as the ones who are pretty quick.

When the club was set up 24 years ago, it had a dozen members, but the figure now stands at somewhere between 100 and 120.

For further information, visit www.swindonstriders.co.uk or the Swindon Striders Facebook presence.