THE Wild Night Run is returning to South Brent for the second year running.

The event takes place on Saturday, March 1 to raise money for the South Brent Explorer Scouts and Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust.

Last year it attracted 170 participants, with almost all of the entrants completing the 10-mile race and the shorter five-mile Mild Night Run.

Up to 300 runners are expected to tackle this year's event, which sets off on a gradual ascent up to Dartmoor, passing the Avon Dam, before reaching Abbots Way and looping back towards Brent Hill and finishing at the train station in South Brent.

Organisers are now hoping that the event will lure some seasoned athletes from established fell-running areas.

Ceri Rees and fellow runner and triathlete Ben Tisdall's company Wild Running put on the event.

'Ben and I were having a pint after one particularly muddy Thursday night and wondered why there weren't any night running races in the area,' said Rees. 'I really enjoy the liberty that running in the wild offers, but if you want to compete on the fells it sometimes requires a long trip north.

'I for one would like to see more fell-running opportunities down in the South West.'

Tisdall added: 'I only really started off-piste night running a few years ago, just before I set up Wild Running, but I wish I'd discovered it earlier.

'It's a fantastic opportunity to interact with this amazing natural resource we have on our doorstep, Dartmoor.'

The organisers say participants should be prepared to deal with tricky terrain, mostly off-road and with plenty of climbing.

Tisdall said: 'It's a tough race and not for the faint-hearted

Head-torches are compulsory. The course will be marshalled and marked and the moorland sections will also have luminous ski poles.

To register for either event, visit http://www.wild">www.wild night run.co.uk.