Bedford Harriers Half MarathonHere's how RW members rated this race in the past (624 votes). 2010 race reviewed by: Graham McCarthy 2
 | | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: A beautful and excellently organized event
In full: An incredibly well organised event by Bedford Harriers. The generally up first half and down second half gave me a very flattering negative split. The course was slightly long. Very enjoyable and I will be back next year.
Date of review: December 16, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: MB1
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Great marshalls, well organised, good value.
In full: My first Bedford Half and well worth it. It's not the easiest of courses but it provided excellent training. Well organised and really great marshalling. Especially enjoyed the TA(?) boys at the last water stop barking encouragement! Thank you, I'll be back next year.
Date of review: December 15, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: Andrew Nash 3
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: The one thing that stands out on the plus side for the event is the organisation. From the welcome pack to the buses to the prizes it is obviously well thought out and much better than other events - Leicester take note!!!
Date of review: December 15, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: jason french
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: A well organised event and great for runner of all abilities
In full: This was my 4th time running the bedford harriers half. The first time i ran it in 2005 (which was my first half marathon), the long incline caught me out and i hit the wall at 8 miles and limped home for the remaining distance (thankfully most of the remaining distance was downhill). I managed a time around 1:40 which i was pretty pleased with for a beginner. I have tried to run this race every year since to guage my progress before the christmas break. Whilst there are certainly flatter half marathons, I somehow manage PB's here. This year i was aiming for a sub 90min and got round in 1:28:21. Top tips for people for running this for the first time: 1. Dont start off too quick. Make sure you keep some in the tank so that you can blitz the downhill sections towards the end (thats my approach to it anyway) 2. Although it feels cold when standing on the start line, dont over-do it with the layers. Every year i seem to end up running in less and less. You soon warm up.
Its a great event and I intend to carry on doing every year. Credit to the organisers and the marshalls.
Date of review: December 15, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: eden bassy
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 20% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 20% |
In short: first one, very hilly may be build up mor for next year as my legs are still dead three days later
Date of review: December 15, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: Frank Wood 2
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Another briliant half.
In full: It would be wrong to consider any criticism for a race where a passing marshal gave me a lift from Bedford to the start. The course was as lovely as ever with a stunning sunrise to greet us early arrivals.
The indoors gathering area meant we stayed warm until the absolute last minute and nice to have showers and tea at the end.
Date of review: December 15, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: Tuscan
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Well done Bedford Harriers - another superb half marathon
In full: So well organised and the support from marshalls is great - this is my favourite half marathon. The hills aren't as bad as some make out, although the bit at the end caught me out, again. This was the second time I've run this one and got PBs both times.
Date of review: December 14, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: Shadwell
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: A great half an definite for the diary next year
In full: This is the second time I have run this race. Ran it in 2008 but missed last year. I came back with a mission and would have almost achieved this had I not twisted my ankle at just 3 miles. Great support from everyone around when it happened and managed to get back on track quickly by running it off. The hills are testing but having done Marlow which is very steep I would say these are challenging to maintain the pace and not such a killer that you want to give up. The 10 mile drop is a godsend at that part of the race and leaves you with a real sense of kicking on and finishing strong. If like me you got caught out on the last 400m the first time I did this it doesn't seem so bad next time.
2008 posted my half PB of 1.33 and this time carrying a bit of an injury kept this done to just 2 mins over that at 1.35.
This is very well organised, with an offsite parking venue with free buses to and from teh event. This was much better than I expected and the organisers should be very proud of this all went.
There is changing and showers afterwards and a good all round area to meet and greet and recover.
The marshalls were just brilliant and very supportive, as were the drink stations and just in the right places.
This year saw a Rugby shirt as your prize, which is well made and will last ages with a sewn motif. My Sweatshirt the first time around is still going strong, washes well and one I just love wearing. I think the shirt will take over from here, as I really like it.
Well done organisers a job well done.
See you next year
Date of review: December 14, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: snapdragon
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Great pre-Xmas event - amazing organisation - testing route
In full: In my head, this race was a see-where-I-am-at-the-end-of-the-year test. The answer is a little behind where I want to be. This was my worst ever HM time, but I'm not too disheartened as I found the course quite tough.
The climb around miles 6-7 was longer than I could have imagined (not too steep, just long) and that did it for me. After that the wheels came off !
There were millins of marshalls all doing a great job, some braving lunatic Chrismtas traffic too. The off-sire parking and bus to the start worked well, chip distribution was smooth - the option to collect the Rugby Shirt memento BEFORE the race was also good idea. Plenty of toilets, lots of seating beforehand too. I was starving at the end and the bacon rolls and hot dogs looked great but the queue was massive so I skipped those.
Overall, orgaisation was superb, not a big crowd to cheer you on - but this is December ! I'll be back next year to beat that nasty hill.
Date of review: December 14, 2010
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2010 race reviewed by: elle.
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Well done Bedford Harriers - a brilliantly organised race.
In full: Very nearly a PW for me but still really enjoyed it, and the organisation was excellent. The marshalls were great and really spurred me on when I was struggling.
Date of review: December 14, 2010
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