BUPA Great South RunHere's how RW members rated this race (813 votes). 2012 race reviewed by: winerunner52
 | | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Another excellent GSR
In full: I have run this race for many years and depending on weather always enjoy it and I usually get a good time off the back of a couple of halves completed in September. Traffic is always a problem as there are only two main roads one can use and the race literature clearly states this is a problem and not only on race day. I thought there were less cars on Southsea Common this year so perhaps more people parked in the city car parks - but we all leave using the same road eventually!
Weather could have been better but at least we were spared the awful westerly wind and rain that can ruin the last two miles and PBs.
I think BUPA events are very well organised when you consider the number of runners involved - but their races are some of the dearest to enter - £40+ for 2013 - but I have already entered so I will be back.
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Phil Phillips
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Good Fast PB Course
In full: Putting aside the usual problems encounterd with races of this size i.e. runners in the wrong "waves" and walking after two miles (and they were in the "orange" wave?) it is a great PB potential race if you are postioned well in the right "wave".
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Jo Mac
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Nice and flat for beginners but public transport and getting out of the city horrendous.
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Phil Baer
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Top day out but expensive
In full: First 10 miler for me, and enjoyed this one immensely. Excellent crowds and bands along the route as well as enthusiastic locals. Plenty of water/ powerade stations. Perfect course for novices being so flat, and the scenery is interesting, taking in the dockyards, the old town and the seafront. I must be in the minority as well as I found the traffic pretty good- 30 minutes each way to get from the M3 to Southsea common is good going, as Portsmouth can be bad enough on a normal weekend!
The bad: the price is well over the top, and the medal is pretty dreadful
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Clare McIntyre
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great but start times need to be looked at..
In full: Excellent and thoroughly enjoyable race. My only issue besides the cold weather was that my first 2 to 3 miles was spent dodging slow runners and walkers!!!! This cost me easily over 5 minutes and was incredibly frustrating and its a brilliant course with PB potential. I will definitely be doing it again next year but I will try to get into the orange wave to give myself a chance!!!!
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: mothrunner
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Well organised race, excellent marshals, could not be flatter!
In full: The Great Run people know how to organise a big race like this, everything worked well. Great support around the course from the public, and from the excellent marshals, who didn't have a nice day for standing around. If you've done a race flatter than this it must have been on a track, but the last 2miles is exposed to the wind. One of my pet peeves is groups of people running slowly in a line across the road, and there was plenty of this, along with people walking inside 2 miles. Not sure what the organisers could do about that, though. The experience is spoiled a bit by the awful traffic jams getting away after the run.
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Cookie123
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In full: Very well organised race with a mixture of club, fun and charity runners. Good support from spectators and marshalls made for a great atmosphere. Fast and flat so a great course for chasing a PB, though not too many other 10 mile races out there. Only complaints are they need to have predicted time markers within each wave to stop slower runners starting from the front as I spent the first 3 miles running sideways as much as forwards trying to dodge people. Also, minor point really but it would help if the lids were taken off bottles before being handed to runners. This is the only race I've done where they don't do this.
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Jamie Russell
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Good race but chaotic start
In full: I actually enjoyed this race but the start was dreadful. As usual people totally overestimating their finish time and holding up faster runners. Spent the 1st mile and a half dodging slower runners which cost time. Decent flat route and good support pretty much all the way round
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Tim Mallett
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Not bad but getting home was a nightmare!
In full: Having run with an injury and being dressed a Sonic the Hedgehog I wasn't expecting a good time but 1.30 was okish. Crowd were really good however getting home took three times as long as it should have. Organisation at the end was a bit poor as well. Not bad but apart from London and Brighton marathon I will stick to smaller races like the Cabbage Patch and Bstoke half..
Date of review: October 29, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Striker JC
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Well organised with a fast flat course. Not cheap but decent value and well worth doing.
In full: My second year here and much the same as before. Good organisation proves that it is possible to put on large events without hassle and stress. Generally well supported (though some crowds are louder, but then the weather isn't always lovely to be fair). The scenery is fine if urban. Good course for a PB (not that 10 mile races are that common anyway). Nice medal and goody bag. The only Great Run in the south but it suggests the others are worth a look. If you only one "big" race and want to keep it under a half then this is well worth a look.
Date of review: October 28, 2012
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