Spearheaded by the New Marske Harriers, the projects will see Redcar becoming more appealing to runners than ever before with a number of schemes focussing on Locke Park and Fox Rush Community Woodland.
Assisted by £16,000 in funding from the Tees Valley Community Foundation and Tesco Bags of Help, as well as support from the Friends of Locke Park, the Harriers will remove chicken wire from bridges and decking and replace them with runner-friendly anti-slip strips.
The group will also create RunEngland321 running routes around the park and in Fox Rush Community Woodland. The RunEngland321 routes aim to provide aspiring and regular runners trails of different distances, ranging from easy to difficult, for runners to get their teeth into.
To make running round the Woodland even easier, a map of routes in the area is going to be created and given to runners and walkers.
However, the highlight of Redcar’s running boom is the introduction of a junior two kilometre parkrun starting on Sunday 14 August. Modelled on the already popular parkruns which take place in Locke Park, the junior events are only open to under-14s and run on a shorter course.
Cllr Carl Quartermain, Cabinet Member for Jobs, Skills and Leisure, said: “All of these projects will do wonders for increasing the popularity of running in the borough; I am pleased that we have a group like the New Marske Harriers who are dedicating their own time to make Redcar even better for runners of all ages and abilities.
“I would also encourage as many aspiring running stars as possible to come down and take part in the junior parkrun.”
Graham Hall, Chairman of the New Marske Harriers, said: “The work in Locke Park will benefit all park users, not just runners. Unlike other councils which charge running groups to use the park, here the running community is working with Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council to improve the town.”
He added: “I hope that this will help more people to start running for their health’s sake, for fun or to prepare for some of the other running events in Redcar that the club is involved in, including the Beacon 5km and Redcar Half Marathon on Sunday 25 September.”
To find out more about the New Marske Harriers go to: www.new-marske-harriers.co.uk.