If you love running, Renato Losio of RunAbroad.com illustrates that you can find runs in Europe all year around.

“From January to December, there are thousands of runs in Europe, from short rural races in Normandy to ultramarathons in the Alps. And you can enjoy most of them without being a fanatic athlete. Here is a selection of unusual and great races, different months, different countries.

January – Polar Night Halfmarathon, Norway
www.msm.no

The Polar Night Halfmarathon takes place in the Arctic city of Tromsø, in the north of Norway. No light, a lot of snow, ice and a quite chilly afternoon but the chance to see the aurora borealis is worth the price of the flight alone: the city offers statistically the most Northern Lights in the world.

February – Mitja Marato de Barcelona, Spain
www.bcn.cat/mitjamarato

The half marathon run takes place in the city centre of Barcelona, starting from Passeig de Picasso and crossing the finish line at the (very appropriate) Arc de Triomf. Plaza Espana and the port are part of a great sightseeing tour in the popular tourist destination.

Mitja Marato de Barcelona, Spain

March – Meia Maratona de Lisboa, Portugal
www.lisbon-half-marathon.com

The Lisbon Half Marathon takes place in Lisbon city centre, with the bonus of crossing the Tagus river over the 25 de Abril bridge, the European Golden Gate Bridge: the finish line is just in front of the absolutely gorgeous Monastery of Geronimos.

April – Stramilano, Italy
www.stramilano.it

The “Stramilano dei 50.000″ is the main running event in the capital city of fashion and offers the great chance to start in front of the Milan’s Duomo. It’s probably one of the few events where the most popular race is not the competitive race.

May – Trail Napoléon, Corsica
www.corsica-run.com

Corsica Run Xtrem organizes the Trail Napoléon, a 23km trail run with a positive ascent of more than 950m. This is the best trail in the island of Corsica, from the cité Impériale in Ajaccio to Parata, with the incredible view over the Iles Sanguinaires and an unspoiled trail in the maquis. A shorter and easier challenge (16km) is available on the same day for hikers.

Trail Napoléon, Corsica

June – Les Foulées du Gois, France
www.lesfouleesdugois.com

Les Foulées du Gois is a race against the advancing tide on the Gois, just 8 kilometers from the main land to the island of Noirmoutier and back, thanks to an historic causeway. Sea everywhere, wet feet: not a proper race but a different experience all together.

July – Swiss alpine marathon Davos, Switzerland
www.swissalpine.ch

Davos is the ideal race for a summer break in Switzerland and as a first time long distance trail race. The C42, also called cultural marathon, is an easy marathon by mountain standards, follows the Bernina railway line, a Unesco World Heritage site, and the time limit is nine hours.

August – Race the Train, UK
www.racethetrain.com

Race the Train is a competition between runners on a 14 miles trail course and a steam train. A superbly themed race to challenge the Talyllyn Railway, a historic narrow-gauge railway, one of the great trains of Wales. A must do at least once for who likes to jog in the countryside and all multi – terrain runners.

September – Route du Vin, Luxembourg
http://routeduvin.rtl.lu

Running along the banks of the Moselle on the German border, where the valley is dominated by many small wine-making towns. Over a thousand runners enjoyed last year a bottle of crémant Caves Gales after the half marathon in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

October – Cologne Marathon, Germany
www.koeln-marathon.de
The Köln Marathon takes place in the city centre of Cologne, the media city and carnival centre of Germany: start & finish are in the Cologne Deutz area, not far from the famous cathedral and the race crosses the Rhine twice.

November – Athens Classic Marathon, Greece
www.athensclassicmarathon.gr

A marathon. Actually, the marathon. The real one in the place where the story began: the course is the original one used during the first modern Olympic Games (24.85 miles), as well as the Olympic course of Athens 2004. It starts from the City of Marathonas and finishes in the Panathinaikon Stadium in Athens.

December – London Santa Run, England
http://www.209events.com/event.php?event=52

Forget the frenetic shopping in Kensington and join over 2000 runners dress up as Santa to raise money for charity on the first Saturday of December. Anyone can take part in Santas on the Run, you can run, walk or jog the 3km race route.”