Hundreds of runners are pounding the streets of Stamford and villages north to Careby for the Valentine's 30k Road Race today.
The 31st event is once again starting and ending at Stamford Welland Academy. Around 50 couples are taking part, as well as family groups and individuals, and it's often used as a pre-marathon training run due to its 18-mile undulating course. The race gets underway at 11 am, and there are rolling road closures en route, which includes Little Casterton Road, Ryhall Road through Casterton, and the B1176 to Careby.
Race director Mark Harding says it's a well-known event in the running calendar.
"Everybody tries to have their unique selling point. Ours is we're always on the closest Sunday to St. Valentine's Day. And we try and make use of that in our sort of branding. So everybody gets a packet of Love Hearts at the end.
If there's couples running, there's a separate competition for the fastest two Valentine's couples. And every Valentine's couple will get a box of chocolates. So, you know, we play on that. That's our unique selling point. And it's quite nice. I don't know of any other race that does it."
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