Berkhamsted Half-Marathon Here's how RW members rated this race in the past (532 votes). 2011 race reviewed by: Moooog
 | | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great course with hills and nice scenery. Well organised.
In full: Great hilly course with some nice scenery. Only criticism is that there wasn't enough room whilst waiting at the start to shelter from the cold. Would have been a nightmare if it had been raining too. Otherwise, really well organised. Personally, wasn't entirely sure of the wisdom of having a water station right at the top of a hill - could barely breathe by the time I'd reached the station let alone drink! That's just me though I'm sure...
Great race.
Date of review: March 7, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: runlozrun
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: Quicker than you think
In full: Day started off really chilly but the free parking at the train station was handy as it meant only a short walk to the start. A very friendly marshall welcomed you at the entrance which is always encouraging. As far as the race was concerned there were a couple of nasty hills which I'd been forewarned about but in general the course was not as hilly as I expected. Particulary enjoyed the park section. Organisers should perhaps look at the traffic issue as I was concerned on more than 1 occasion about the safety of fellow runners during the race. Fantastic downhill finish although I think the last 2 miles being all downhill was a slight exaggeration. The only thing I was very disappointed with was the medal as there was no date or mention of the event on it so organisers sort this out for next year please ;-)
Date of review: March 7, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Ben Thomas 9
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Perfect weather, scenic & good support
Date of review: March 7, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Wopperdopper
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Undulating but worth it
Date of review: March 7, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Gunner23
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: A really good Half
In full: Thought the race was made by the scenery and nice country lanes, hills were a bit of a challenge but nothing too major and the downhills certainly gave the legs a nice rest. Biggest question mark would be why was the cricket club pavillion not fully open before the race?? On a cold day it would have provided a warmer place to shelter before the start. That aside, really enjoyed the run....
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: hemps
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: good hilly fun
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Ken McGuirk
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: A Great Half - but not for wimps !
In full: This is a great half if you love a bit of hill climbing some speedy downhills and some greate countryside. You certainly get a great feeling of accomplishment compared with boring flat halves. I agree with some of the other reviews that Cars/Cyclists are starting to become a bit of a concern - it would be fantastic if roads could be closed but I guess this is probably not possible. Overall really enjoyed it - nice goody bag with a welcome banana at the end. Talking of which the guy in the fun run dressed as a banana - what can I say - Top Banana !
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Sarah Corley
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 80% |
In short: Hilly but great down hill finish. Could be better organised
In full: There are a couple of big hills but what goes up must come down and the last mile is a great down hill finish - best of any race I have taken part in. However, the postcode given in the information for parking at the school send us to a back entrance that was locked, and as I had not recieved a parking map in my pack this was a bit frustrating. However, we did manage to get a spot at the train station which was great, free and next to the start. Very cold and no shelter at the start of the race, would be terrible in the rain and gets quite cramped too. Shame about the cars on the road, but dont think much can be done and most were very patient. No advanced warning re water stations. However, dispite the few organisational glitches, it was a really lovely course, the hills are a good challenge and I will def do it again. Thank you
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Tack-n-Gybe
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 20% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Well run race let down by some marshalling that bordered on dangerous.
In full: I did not run this race today but my wife and several friends did. I was there supporting. While the location for this race is great and the roads around this area pass through some great woodland. The organisation seemed very good, however, I had the misfortune to be standing on the corner at 4.5 miles where the route took a hard right. The marshalls here, I'm sorry to say were bordering on dangerous. There were no attempts being made to manage the traffic and the runners to ensure that everybody stayed safe, the consequence was that drivers were getting impatient and in my opinion we were lucky not to see an accident. I sincerely hope that the organisers read these comments and learn from them for next year.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: frobester
| | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In full: A great race, first time I've done it, some challenging hills but some nice fast flat and downhill bits too. Constructive criticism time - it would have been nice to get some advance warning of the water stations on the course (a sign half a mile out, for example) - I realise they're marked on the course route but when you're concentrating on getting a good time, and suddenly you're (together with hundreds of others) on top of a water station, it becomes a bit chaotic. I only took water from one of the stations as a result. The Ashlyn School car park was a bit of a trek from the start/finish, but good to have free parking all the same. And a thanks to the St Johns Ambulance people who tended my head after the race after I'd bashed it on my car door before the race!! Will definitely be back next year.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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