Berkhamsted Half-Marathon Here's how RW members rated this race in the past (532 votes). 2011 race reviewed by: St Albans running man
 | | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Really like this race
In full: Second year running of doing this race and the conditions have been perfect both times. I knew the hills were challenging so didn't expect to get below 1.30 let alone a PB, but a PB I got so I'm very happy.
If you want a few challenging hills in your run this is a good race to do.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: cowgirl668
| | 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: Nasty hills but only a few - fast race
In full: Go
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Wonder Woman
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: Scenic with challenging hills..cold at the start!
In full: Challenging course with hills throughout - two particularly tough ones. Nice downhill sections though (especially to finish) and lovely running through Ashridge. Quite a few impatient drivers on roads - felt a bit dodgy at times. Start I found very cold as there was no real shelter from the bitter wind. Other than that organisation good - great marshals, baggage store, finish line helpers and water stations. Thank you - glad I did it but looking forward to running when spring (and warmer temps) arrive!!!
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Rob Humphries 2
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Fairly scenic with 2 'good' hills. Organisation OK but could do with some additional information up front.
In full: Enjoyed the run which was on-road and with light traffic at times; last mile or so is fast and downhill. Not much space at the Cricket Club and the pre-start would have been miserable on a rainy day - but did have covered baggage storage. Organisation was generally good but a few things could have been better and the following comments are constructive feedback rather than criticism: A profile of the route is available online via Map My Run - a link from the website would have been useful as would a better indication of water stations. Start could have been a bit more organised to get people into target finish time zones. Start/finish near the rail station (which provided free parking) was very convenient. Nice goody bag.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: TimR
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Roads open, keep your wits about you. Hills sneak up on you.
In full: Great contryside. Quite a few people wearing iPods who didn't seem to be aware of what was going on around them particularly as there were cyclists, cars, tractors and other runners about. Not PB potential due to the uphills but I think the downhills must have compensated.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Phil Jacobs 2
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 20% |
In short: Good venue but all on roads. Plenty of parkeing at the station and execclent warm up area.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Tony Reeve
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: The hils are challenging, the scenery is as good as it gets in this part of the world. Very enjoyable and a personal best
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2011 race reviewed by: Nigel Kippax
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great, but becoming a victim of its own success
In full: The Berko half has become very popular in recent years, with entry numbers trebling to this year's figure of 1500. This is now presenting significant problems with traffic as none of the roads are closed. After several near misses and several bad tempered drivers (and runners) I fear the Berko is now beyond its safe capacity unless local roads are closed or made one-way for the duration of the race.
An event organiser's nightmare I know, but something needs to be done before someone is hurt.
Date of review: March 6, 2011
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2010 race reviewed by: murdel
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% |
In short: Lots of hills - steep downhill final mile helps.
Date of review: October 18, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: Nick Bishop 4
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Hilly half marathon in amazing location.
In full: Was concerned about the hills so surprised myself by running a PB. Not sure how given it's not an especially quick course, except for the final mile. Will almost certainly do this again. My only whinge was cups rather than bottles of water.
Date of review: July 26, 2010
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