Searching online for a charity run, it’s clear that these are golden days for runners wanting to get fit and do good at the same time.

There’s a huge range of events across the country – midweek or weekend, fun runs, tough guy runs, endurance runs, 5k, 10k, half-marathon, marathon, ultra-marathon – the choice is endless.

So how does the charity runner choose which event to do?

Many events are generic roll-outs with little to differentiate them from a thousand others, except by the cause. And for many runners the charity cause is of course the defining factor – it’s the reason they are running in the first place!

But many others are looking for a run with a difference, an event with a USP that leaves the runner satisfied, not just with having finished the course, but with the added sense of having participated in something genuinely unique.

Some otherwise standard, generic events are tweaking the formula and adding value for the runner.

For example, Run to the Beat - “London’s Music Half-Marathon” adds value by placing bands along the route for your listening and you can even buy an event album – “80 minutes of music scientifically designed and mixed to inspire and improve your running experience”. “Scientifically” – really?

But essentially it’s still a standard half-marathon with some tunes along the way which you’ll catch a few seconds of as you run past, if of course you can hear them for over the sound of your panting.

And I bet most people will be listening to their iPods anyway, so it’ll just be an annoying distorted noise interrupting your real favourite tune in the playlist you’ve created specially for your big day run!

So what is there in the way of truly unique runs?

Well there’s the Great Gorilla Run for one…

• 100′s of runners all dressed in gorilla suit with individual character modifications;
• a Central London location taking in many city centre attractions such as Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, The Globe Theatre and Tate Modern;
• everyone running to save a species on the edge of extinction.

So if you’re looking for something genuinely unique, try running to the gorilla beat in 2010.

The Great Gorilla Run – 8 years old and original every time!

Written by: Gorilla Neil