Celebrating its sixth anniversary, the Sunderland 10K and Half Marathon is set to welcome thousands to the streets of Sunderland on May 1, at Keel Square, as part of the Run Sunderland Festival.
Among those participating in the event is runner Tony Hopkins. Originally planning to run the Morpeth to Newcastle Marathon, the athlete decided to sign up to the Sunderland City Half Marathon, after the Morpeth to Newcastle run had been postponed.
To prepare for the long distance route, Tony has spent a month following a strict healthy diet and exercising regularly.
He said: “I haven’t done this event before, this is my first time so I am really looking forward to it.
“I have a job that takes me all over the country, so I have to focus on weekly and monthly targets. I like to do around 40K a week.
“During the week, I go to the gym and do two-to-three runs of five-to-10K. Over the weekend I try to get up to around 20K.
“In terms of food, I generally have a good diet. I don’t eat fried foods and I don’t eat pastries. I try to eat healthy by eating fruit, vegetables and lots of Greek yogurt. I also like avocado – it’s a particular favourite.
“For anyone wanting to run the event next year, I would say prepare.
“Anybody can do a half marathon, but it’s how you want to do it that is important. You can walk it or run it, or even do it really slowly, and you can gain from that. But if you want to do it properly I would start by doing 5Ks then work up to 10Ks and then run half marathons.”
For more information about the Sunderland Half Marathon visit: www.sunderlandcity10k.com