Jantastic, the free 12-week challenge, returns to get Britain running in 2014!

Registrations for Jantastic have now opened as the free running challenge returns to inspire all ages, abilities and aspirations to start or continue running in 2014.

Launching with a new website at www.Jantastic.me, the challenge will see the creation of an online running community from across the fitness spectrum to help get people started, running more and running faster throughout the difficult winter months, between January and March 2014.

Register now for Jantastic for FREE at www.Jantastic.me*

*If you'd like to participate in a team then you can join an existing one or register your Run England group as a team. Please remember to register with your Run England group name (always start the team name with 'Run England' followed by your group name as listed at www.runengland.org/groups) and be sure to select the Run England team type from the drop down list. Check your Run Group team isn't already listed before creating a new one.

Jantastic is designed to keep people motivated to achieve their personal New Year’s fitness, health and performance goals. Participants sign up as individuals or as part of a team, set their goals and targets, share those and invite friends to join them on Facebook and Twitter. Once January starts, participants can log their runs through the website, compare progress with other runners in their area, age group and with the same goals, and share their achievements.  adidas prizes for participation are awarded monthly and at the end of March everyone who has completed the challenge is entered into a draw to win a VIP place in the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon.

Created by Marathon Talk, the UK’s number one running podcast, Jantastic is supported by England Athletics. In 2013, Jantastic helped thousands of people achieve their running aspirations, logging more than 125,000 runs and 600,000 miles, and bigger totals are being targeted for 2014’s challenge.

Martin Yelling, founder of Jantastic and host of Marathon Talk said: “Running is an easy and effective way of keeping fit and healthy for people of all ages and abilities. The free Jantastic challenge is all about getting people active, keeping them motivated and supporting them through the tough winter months when it’s harder to head outside and go for a run.  

“Through the new Jantastic website we will create an online community to allow people to share their experiences, get support and motivation, to help them reach their running targets. Jantastic has received great support since we started and we want 2014 to be our biggest year to date.”

Professor Andy Lane, Sports Psychologist at Wolverhampton University, said: “Exercise has a huge influence on mental wellbeing and it has been demonstrated that going for a 15 minute run can make all the difference in terms of reducing stress levels and boosting your self confidence.

“Leaving the house is the hardest part of exercise but running for a short period of time will get endorphins flowing, leading to more positive thinking and confidence that you achieved your goal of going for a run. Jantastic will be a key tool in helping to get over that first psychological step and getting runners of all abilities on the road to greater mental and physical fitness.”