Events

Overall score		60%
Would you do it again?		Maybe
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		40%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Challenging course with great scenery, but not-so-great organisation
In full: I agree with the comments by James Russell 20. Though I did the full marathon, much of James’ comment held true for that as well. I also agree that much of the negatives can be easily resolved.
What I would like to add though is:
a) The hill section after mile 3 out of Tenby that takes you up to mile 4 and the Ridgeway section of the course is particularly nasty… I mean “challenging”!
b) The strong camaraderie between runners was superb and certainly helped to keep me going, especially in the latter stages.
c) More drink stations, especial ones with isotonic drinks would have also helped, otherwise on a very hot day I could see there being some serious hydration issues.
d) The views from Manorbier over the coast were breath-taking. Shame I had little breath left by then to give!
e) Yes, the roads were closed, and in most part this held up. Though to be honest, some of the roads were narrow single track, which would have made things interesting if there was traffic on them.
f) The finish had red carpet; almost Ironman style. Shame the finishing clock wasn’t on the overhead gantry (ok, a minor point), but at least the welcoming crowds were there to make it all worthwhile.
g) 3 days after the event and the results are now available, but still not the full results. Not sure why it is taking so long when many other events offer provisional results the same evening or following day.

Date of review: June 13, 2012

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		40%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		20%

In short: Needs fine tuning to make it a great event but it has massive potential.
In full: You get the feeling that the organisers have never actually done this sort of thing themselves, otherwise they would have realised that starting a half marathon in June at midday has the potential to actually be quite dangerous. Fortunately on this occasion there was sufficient cloud cover to stop it from getting too hot.

The distance markers are pure fiction - apparently I ran the first mile in 5 1/2 minutes! The last mile meanwhile was more like two!

The pre-race information was sketchy, I never actually received the email information pack that others had and when I tried to download it from the website it would not work. An example of this is the baggage reclaim - my friends and I turned up hoping for the best having not been able to ascertain if such a facility was in fact available because there was confusing information on the website.

The water stops definitely need working on - the volunteers manning them were clearly inexperienced and could not cope in spite of valiant efforts and there were not enough water stops in any case.

That's the negatives out of the way and they are all things that the organisers can easily solve if they put their minds to it. There are are lots of positives!

The scenery is fabulous much as you would expect from Pembrokeshire, especially once you reach the Ridgeway Road. OK the hill that you have to run up to get there is huge and anyone interested in doing this route should realise that there are far more hills than you would normally expect on a half marathon. However in some ways my friends and I felt that this was a positive thing because having done this run we now feel extremely confident about doing other half marathons later this year. So in that respect the Wales half marathon and indeed the full marathon can be marketed as a real challenge.

As inexperienced as the volunteers were, they worked really hard and were always charming and very supportive, and helped to make the day an enjoyable one. The support from the locals when you ran through the villages was also really appreciated. The man in Manorbier with the garden hose was a lifesaver!

Starting in Pembroke Castle was a nice touch, but highlight of the day has to be the finish in Tenby - the crowd was amazing for such a small town.
Date of review: June 11, 2012

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Overall score		40%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		20%
Value		20%
Beginner-friendliness		40%

In short: Poorly organised for the half marathon
In full: I've run over 100 half marathons but have never seen such a farcical start, i ran the first mile according to the mile markers in 4 minutes & the last in 15! Unable to know if i was on my predicted target time as the markers were all over the place, poor medal & T shirt & easily the most dissapointing half marathon i've ever run. Hats off to the runners who completed the full marathon though those hills were challenging enough fo a half marathon.
Date of review: June 11, 2012

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Overall score		100%
Would you do it again?		Maybe
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		100%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: Hilly, scenic and well organised. A really enjoyable event
In full: As my first Marathon I had some trepidation about the hills. As it turned out they were 'runable' but by mile 22 I really flagged up one bit.
Scenery was fantastic, and there was a fair amount of support throughout the race from locals and the marshalls.

I finished in 3hr 2min which was quite far up the field. I ran for miles without seeing any other runners, and the only guys I saw were those ahead who had pulled up.

The whole event was top class organisation, and the finishing straight was a real treat
Date of review: June 10, 2012

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