The Nike+ Human Race 10KHere's how RW members rated this race in the past (156 votes). 2008 race reviewed by: Lorna White
 | | Overall score | | 20% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 20% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 20% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Terribly disappointed - not worth the cash - will I run again?
In full: Where do I start?
1) You had to pick up your gear from Nike Town and no information was given as to when your 'wave' would be running.
2) This was an evening run, for no apparent reason, given it wasn't run at the same time across the world.
3) The concert should not have been before the race - everyone just wanted to get on an run. Move the race to the morning, then listen to the band would have been much more sensible. Where was the atmosphere?
4) The waved start should have meant that faster runners went off first - It did not and I spent the first 2km weaving past slow people.
5) On leaving the stadium, you enter the car park and it didn't get any better. The highlight was running around Tescos (how much did Tesco pay to be the centre point?)
6) Lighting was poor (very little street lighting meant dodging wet drain covers and road markings was difficult).
7) The route was winding, boring, soul destroying.
8) The finish was hidden and crept up on you in the end.
Overall this was THE WORST 10km I have ever run, and it was the most expensive. After this experienced I am tempted not to run a race again. Where is my refund?
Date of review: August 31, 2008
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2008 race reviewed by: Joe Milner-Moore
| | Overall score | | 20% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 20% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Very disappointing. Shambolic organisation. Won't do another Nike run.
In full: A list of my grievances:
1) Unbelievable that they wouldn't let us run unless we were there two hours early to listen to some irrelevant concert.
2) Constant misinformation. For example, one of the marshalls was shouting "one mile to go" and then 500m later there was an 8km sign. Many km markers were missing, and there was only one water station (unless I missed them..?)
3) Fairly narrow course so no room to pass people.
4) Waves were too close together. By the time we'd all found the right position within our own wave, we were then being held up by the stragglers from the wave ahead.
5) Very ugly run with lots of sharp 180s
6) Awful marshalling - they stood around looking confused while about 20 runners called for a medic for someone who had passed out.
7) Originally said there would be places for spectators to watch the run, before changing their minds and saying they could only watch from the "concourse".
8) Free t-shirt no consolation as wearing it would give Nike undeserved free advertising.
Very disappointing from Nike. The only upside was the refreshing rain..!
Date of review: August 31, 2008
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2008 race reviewed by: The Beagle
| | Overall score | | 20% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 20% | | PB potential | | 20% | | Atmosphere | | 20% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Shockingly bad - enough to put me off Nike for life
In full: Organisation: no email confirmation of booking. Picking race pack up from Nike Town was cheap marketing. No useful information on the website. Clearly not run by runners.
Concert pointless. Sound system was terrible - there were so many echoes that if they did give useful information out it was impossible to tell.
Start times not confirmed until we got there, and then they started 20 minutes behind schedule. Warm up area cramped so warm up was a non-event. Then we ran through the worst "scenery" - car parks and industrial estates, an unlit tunnel, there was nothing attractive at all about this "race". The marshalls did the best they could with a bad route but this was a seriously bad route. I got bored and angry part way round.
The finish line was hidden behind a corner so I had no idea when to give the last spurt of effort.
The t-shirt at the end was nice but there was no medal, no goody bag, no feeling of elation.
All in all this was a terrible event and Nike should apologise to everyone who took part.
Date of review: August 31, 2008
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2008 race reviewed by: xtina
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 20% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: nice idea but forced music watching a bit silly. waves well organized and route well marshalled. tshirts good quality so that was a bonus.
Date of review: August 31, 2008
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2008 race reviewed by: Tom Craggs 2
| | Overall score | | 20% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 20% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 20% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Style (well and attempt at style), no substance
In full: A hugely underwhelming marketing exercise. I would not really call it a race.
Right from the start, from sign up, to having to collect your pack from 'Nike Town' to subsequently finding out the race would be in the evening, to getting no useful instructions or details, to gettingto the event and standing around for nearly two hours, to the crap course and unceremonious trudge back to the station.
I really hope others enjoy it more than me and I won't speak for others, just for myself.
There were so many bad things to say about this race that I won't bother.
A couple of things though - standing (if you were in wave 1 or 2) for nearly 2 hours through rubbish music and MC to then me released upon by far the most ugly run I have never taken part in is not my idea of good fun.
Rain doesn't bother me though and to be fair the top given at the end was good and The course was relatively easy if a bit bendy.
The key is that clearly this was organised by a marketing team, not a team who understand. I will never do another Nike race.
As said before, devoid of any soul. Just hope all those first time race runners are not put off by this - trust me running can be really good fun, just not with Nike...for me at least.
Date of review: August 31, 2008
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2008 race reviewed by: Staggly
| | Overall score | | 20% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 20% | | PB potential | | 20% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Too Corporate and who likes running around a car park?
In full: Yeah I know it was the Nike 10k so it was going to be pretty corporate, but this was slightly ridiculous! Not really sure the point of the concert and no info given on when the race would actually start. Wave 1,my wave had to stand up for a good 1 and a half while the music played. Good to see Paul Radcliffe and Seb Coe, but when we did actually start we were funneled through a small gate and then had to jog the first 1.5k as there were so many people. OK they couldn't do anything about the rain, but running around a car park and industrial estates isn't my idea of fun. Overall hugely disappointed, a soulless event.
Date of review: August 31, 2008
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