Bath Half-MarathonHere's how RW members rated this race in the past (1133 votes). | 1 to 10 of 42 ratings | Page: 1 2 3 4 5 |
| The big picture 2012 (42 votes) | | Overall score | | 82% | | How many would do it again? | | 73% | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 70% | | PB potential | | 77% | | Atmosphere | | 92% | | Organisation | | 76% | | Value | | 56% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 81% |
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2012 race reviewed by: Richard Clark 43
 | | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 20% |
In short: Well Organised, a Bit Early in the Year!
In full: Ran this race during 2012. Very well organised, a train is specially put on to transport people to this, and you are directed from the station to the event. Baggage is guarded by soldiers, organised starting positions, plenty of portaloos. Two laps of the city, and despite what some may say, it's not flat, there are a few hills! Great support on the way round, the 131 Commando Regiment who were also running persuaded me to try harder. The little hill after the bridge over the river turned my legs to jelly after ten miles, but people persuaded me to carry on. The final stretch is covered by three video cameras, so give the final 100 yards everything you have left! Medal presentation at the end, you can purchase a plaque with your name and time to add to it. Only fault with this race, too early in the year!!! I don't like taking long distance training runs in January and February in the snow and ice! Not only that it's too dark in the evenings for the mid week races! Did this the once, enjoyed it but have no plans to do it again, as I didn't enjoy training for it.
Date of review: March 12, 2013
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2012 race reviewed by: greasygringo
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: brilliant run in one of the countrys best cities.big event atmosphere.think there were only a couple hills on first lap.great music and crowds.lively medal and goody bag to boot!highly recommended
Date of review: June 5, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: West Country Lad
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Beautiful city, fast course, great crowd but far too expensive.
Date of review: May 20, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Kieren Fitzgerald
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Enjoyed it but far too congested and actually quite expensive for a half
In full: I ran this as training for the London Marathon mainly because although I live in London I have friends/family in Bath. I have to admit it's quite expensive for a "half" and I did find the route very congested, but the crowd support was amazing for a city half. Would consider again but price may put me off
Date of review: April 26, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: caroline jones 23
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: the best city half in the country
In full: I did bath for the first time this year after all my family telling me how much i was missing out and they weren't wrong. I LOVED the Bath Half and in my opinion is the best city half in the country. The crowds were relentless and unbelievabley uplifting. whole streets turned it into an excuse for a street party and all the students were outside their houses in their droves. people offering trays of jelly babies and water with speakers outside their houses, a local pub had even put a stage outside and had a band playing, at one point I was in tears because of how emotional it all was! The steel band were a highlight and I looked forward to seeing them on the 2nd lap. The double decker bus full of charity support was great too, so much to see on the way round. Very well organised and easy to get to. Route was fantastic, it is a 2 lap which I was dubious about but it worked. Small stretch on the way back into town which was a bit boring but the scouts were there in force to support us in the non residential areas. The finish straight was great. It is a flat course with only one incline that lasts about 40 seconds thats it. I have no bad words to say, I love this race and will do it every year for as long as I can!
Date of review: April 25, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Gee Hirst
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Fabulous atmosphere pulls you through the tough bits!
In full: The Bath Half was very well organized. Yes, it was quite busy, but if you turned up to your starting pen in good time you could easily secure a good starting position. I ran for the pure enjoyment, and was thrilled by the atmosphere - all along the route people lined the streets cheering us all on.
The whole day felt really special and although I didn't do a particularly fast time (2:10), I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The thrill of being lapped by the leading runners was fab, and I'd definitely run this one again!
Organisation was exceptional, and the goody bag was marvellous. All in all, a great race!
Date of review: March 25, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Swift Nick
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | No | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 20% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Great Atmosphere but too congested
In full: It was a great atmosphere cheering all the way around, also inspirational music at times.
Course not flat - there were undulations. Runners Village was crowded and its just as well it was a warm dry sunny day else it would have turned into a mud bath.Inadequate toilet arrangements. Unfortunately like many have suggested too crowded both in the village and more importantly the course. There needs to be more categories of runner. I started 6 minutes behind the start gun, and found it impossible to safely overtake for miles. Virtually walking in places during the first half mile.and even in the latter stages I was having to weave and bob too much for my liking. That said I still improved my PB by 20 seconds. That however wasnt because it was fast flat course, because it isnt = it was due to the hard training I put in!!! I wont be doing this one again. Roll on the Bristol Half in September. Now thats a fast flat PB potential course!
Date of review: March 24, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Celt6776
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Brill atmosphere, crowded start
In full: Enjoyed this race. Bath is a lovely city and the crowd watching it created a great atmosphere. The Runner's village had lots of facilities however the many non-runners in there made it difficult to pass through. Disorganised queues for the toilets, the lack of barriers meant people arriving just before the start time decided they could ignore the queue most of us were in for 20minutes already. That plus having to squeeze out through the narrow bit by the rugby ground meant that I was 9 minutes late passing the start line. Stuck behind a guy dressed as a banana and various superheros meant that any PB I had designs on, was out of the question.
Would still recommend people to do. I just wouldn't do it again.
Date of review: March 20, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: Andy Palmer 6
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: My first Half and what a great way to start. Crowd support was fantastic and couldn't fault the organisation.
In full: Great setting. Great crowd. Great organisation. My first Half and I'll be back again next year. No trouble getting into or out of the City centre by car. It was crowded for the first mile - didn't expect anything else, but I still managed to set out too fast. Downhill start for the first mile was welcome - but not so good coming back into the finish! Not pancake flat, but who wants to run a boring flat race anyway? No problem following the route or spotting the mile markers - except the first one. Incredible support from the crowd, which stretched almost all the way around the course. A great event to start with and keen to come back next year and repeat the experience.
Date of review: March 17, 2012
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2012 race reviewed by: mmmm...marmite
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 40% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 40% |
In short: Has a better reputation than it deserves
In full: I've done this race twice, '08 and '12.
It's not that quick
- as others have mentioned there are plenty of courses out there that are quicker.
It's not that accurate
- a common gripe from GPS wearers is that a particular course is short, long etc etc. Bottom line is that everyone on connect.garmin has this race as long by ~100-300m. I've no doubt the course was accurately measured, I just think that there's no way to run the "racing line" owing to the fact that the course is divided on the second lap.
It's not that cheap
- in fact, it's not cheap at all, the only reason I did it this year is because I could get a free entry because I'm an old git. Absolutely astonishing that any half in the UK could charge roughly 10 quid more than the London marathon. Is it really more expensive to put a 1/2M on in Bath than it is to put on a marathon in London???
It's not that well marked
- maybe I'm blind, but the only mile markers I saw were 3M, 10M and 11M, hardly ideal, unless you're wearing a GPS, in which case you're bugg3rd in any case (see above).
Other than that, great race, see you all next year, providing I can get a free entry ;-)
Date of review: March 16, 2012
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