Sixty-five off-road routes for beginner and experienced trail runners. These tried and tested paths and tracks cover the south-east of England. The routes range in length from 5km to 69km … and they are all great runs! Selected for their runnability, landscape and scenery, they include easily-accessible trails close to towns, cities and popular holiday destinations, as well as unforgettable runs in the more remote parts of the South East’s hills and coast. The selection is deliberately diverse including beaches, woodland, marshes, riverbanks, clifftops, heathland, parkland and ridgetops, and is chosen to highlight the incredible diversity of trail running adventures that the South East offers. Trail running is a great way to explore the South East and to immerse yourself in its magnificent landscapes. This guide is intended to inspire runners of all abilities to develop the skills and confidence to seek out new trails in their local areas as well as further afield. This is a companion book to South West Trail Running, also by Mark Rainsley.

Mark Rainsley lives and works in Dorset. As a keen trail runner (and also kayaker, surfer and mountain biker), he has explored every corner of the wild and wonderful South East, in all its moods and seasons. He has been known to survive the occasional ultra-marathon, but largely he runs sensible distances, purely for the joy of exploring the landscape. He is the author of South West Trail Running. Mark took on the challenge of researching the South West’s and then the South East’s trail running potential as a means of recovering physically and mentally from major surgery to correct a genetic heart defect. This seems to have worked, he recently celebrated his 50th birthday by completing a 50-mile trail run. He hopes that this book demonstrates that these wonderful places are accessible to all runners, and that this book offers useful information and maybe even a bit of inspiration.