Cambridge Half Marathon 2013

I got notification that registration opened for this yesterday. It's on Sunday 10 March 2013.

Sold out in 8 days last year, though it looks like there are 4500 places this year vs 3000 last year.

I saw some complaints about the organisation (lack of loos) and route last year. They say they've tired to address some of the issues, so I'm hoping it's better.

http://www.onestepbeyond.org.uk/cambridge-half-marathon.php

Sold out in less than 3 days!!!

So do the boundary run instead, 3rd of March, 13.1 or 26.2.

I managed to sneak in for this one, really looking forward to it, nice and flat I'd imagine.

The route has been announced now. Instead of two x 5.5m then a 2m out & back, it's two laps now, taking in King's, the market, the round church and the Fitzwilliam museum twice. Starting pens have been announced - sub 1.30, 1.30-2, 2-2.15, 2.15+, voluntary basis though. Really looking forward to this.

I was out running in Cambridge last year when it was on... it did strike me as being a bit amateurish... but I'm still adjusting to life back in the UK..

Cambridge IS a great city ro run through though, colleges, the river, the parks and as you say really quite flat.  Parking can be a problem but there is a substantial park and ride set up, the start finish is a long way from the station though...

Or do what many Cantabrians do... park on the outskits and cycle in...!

Good luck

S

The route passes over Magdalene Bridge twice coming from Queen's Road side, that's downhill, so obviously that'll have to be made up somewhere. Not worried about it though. Fortunately I'm staying with a mate who lives less than a mile from the start line.

Anyone on here doing this? Targets, etc? Hoping to break 88 min but will take sub-90 as have been hit with some injury issues during winter training.

If you enjoy the Cambridge half marathon, why not try the Peterborough half marathon? The Perkins Great Eastern Run, October 13th 2013. It is a great half marathon and i would recommend it to anyone.

Not very impressed. The latest email from the HM organisers emphasises that no headphones are allowed during the race. I went through the website and Ts&Cs before I booked a place to check whether headphones were allowed. I gather it's in the race pack I got a couple of weeks ago, but I'd missed it.

I know this is a hot topic amoung runners, so I don't want to start a big debate!

I've only run one HM before (the Peterborough one in October which Harry Napir mentioned), and I had a single earbud in for that. I understand that you need additional awareness in a race and need to hear marshalls, so I don't want to cut myself off. However I like running with music, and think I'd enjoy it less without.

Did anyone here run this race last year? Was the headphone rule enforced, or are they just covering their backs?

The headphones issue was a moot point in the end. I couldn't run due to a knee injury (which came up while I was tapering, annoyingly!)

How did people find it? Some friends who ran it said that, weather issues aside, there were some irritating bottle necks (one quite soon after the start before there had been much chance to thin out), but otherwise it was good.

I really enjoyed it. My only complaint would have been the lack of a shelter at the beginning. Apart from that it was an excellent and quick course that took in most of the attractive bits of the city. Slightly disappointed in my own performance but thems the breaks I guess, and other factors made up for it, particularly loved the right hand sweep off King's Parade into the Market Square and then left onto Sidney St.

Some eejit just wandered into the centre of the race traffic at about the 1.5 mile marker but there was little anyone could have done to foresee that.

I'm not having a go at the organisers for having a no headphones rule, rather from not making it clear from the start when you book your place in the race. That should be clear.

Glad to hear they weren't enforcing it though. So many people like to run with music that it seems unrealistic to ask people in large, fun HMs like this not to wear them. I do think that people need to take some responsibility for themselves, and that includes being aware of what's around them and being able to hear instructions. I try to deal with that by only having one headphone on, others may prefer to have the volume low.

I'm still grumpy that I didn't get to run. Even in the arrocious weather.

Really enjoyed the race, and took 3 mins off my PB  which I was obviously delighted with. I thought the support when going through the town centre was amazing, especially on my first lap.

The first mile was a bit slow going due to congestion but I never particularly worry about that, you're just saving energy for later in the race.

Can't say I noticed anyone with headphones, I usually wear headphones for training but never in races as I enjoy the atmosphere of a race, especially a big one like Cambridge.

I ran this the first year but decided to wait until the organisation had improved before attempting it again - sounds like they still have a way to go.

I don't remember there being a no headphone rule. I didn't use them anyway.

A very well organised race but, although very flat,  the frequent twists and turns probably don't make it the ultimate pb course. Couldn't believe how happy everyone looked in spite of the weather!

It was far too congested in the first mile and at various points in the first few miles due to the number of runners and only one side of the road to run on.  Unfortunately people were not realistic about their finish times for the start pens and I had walkers in front of me which was really frustrating as the congestion made it hard to pass the slower runners.   Saying that I did manage a PB but could have been quicker if I could have continued at the same pace.  Marshals were great.