Macclesfield Half-Marathon

He-he, proof you enjoy yourself Mick.  Phil also.

Well done to both of you.  Real Stars.

Kind regards.

Bryan
http://www.racephotos.org.uk

My 3rd half marathon this year.  So far this is the best for me.  The organisation of the race was excellent, the massage and a real gem that I've discovered.  Bryan, the talented photograper who provides a fantastic service for all the runners on the day.  Bryan took over 1500 photos himself and put them on http://www.racephotos.org.uk

Do you believe this?  You can download your FREE race photos in less than 24 hours as well as have them emailed to you in high resolution if you want.  A big Thank you Bryan for your artwork, dedication and love of the sport.

My 1st Macclesfield Half and i really enjoyed it! Very well organised but could do with chip timing!! Being able to download a free photo of myself and friends made up for that tho,what an excellent service from www.racephotos.org.uk  BIG THANKS AGAIN BRYAN!  

This was only my second ever half marathon and those hills gave me a right good workout!

Liked the track finish and managed a good time IMO, so enjoyed it and would probably do it again.

Nice one to Bryan for the potos - that's a good touch.

A tough call Martin.  Really not sure my pennies would allow me to pay that much.

I do most of the races where Bryan is taking photos, because I enjoy having a high quality souvenir photo for free.

I dont think that is enough compensation for £18.

Sorry.

Hi Martin,thanks for a great race it was my second Macc half.To be really honest i dont think Macc is big enough to need chip timing,i say that as a compliment and the reason i enjoy Macc so much.It has an intimate feel.Once you are out of the leisure centre there is no hold up what so ever,unlike Wilmslow where it was a mile and a half before i could get up to race pace getting through the crowds.

I think 14 quid is about right for the race.One thing i did like at the Sheffield half was a certificate with the date time and position i came in.It's something you can keep for posterity and most people have a drawer full of medals that just gather dust.   Best regards.

Hi Martin,
This was only my 2nd half marathon (1st was Wilmslow) and I loved it, despite struggling on the hills .  Not too sure that chip timing is needed as the race is a lot smaller (and more intimate) than Wilmslow.  Technical t-shirts would be nice, but not essential.  I must confess to liking a medal, even a really cheap one as I hang them on the side of my mirror, but again, not essential and the lack of any of these things did not detract from a great day, thought the organisation and everything was excellent.

Martin, thanks for a great race.  To put your proposal re the entry fee into perspective, Chester did chip timing this year plus an excellent technical T for £14 for a club runner. 

I'd think hard about £18, much as I enjoy this race.  I would probably pay, because it's clear where the money goes and I am very happy to support Macmillan and the Hospice, but it's still a 50% increase when you've already generated 9k.

And as above, you did a great job on the times, I had a cup of tea and was able to check mine out before I left, do you need chip timing?

Do you feel that runners are beginning to expect all the trappings of a "bupa" style event at races like yours?

My view:

If the t-shirt was a decent and tasteful tech one that could be worn regularly for training then i personally wouldn't mind an increase. I went to Rivington trail the week before this and got a Salomon one, which is definately wearable (The race was sponsored by Salamon though).

That race is £18 and although only 270 runners booked on it did have chip timers.

 However, my view is that CT's are a bit of a luxury

Martin,

as a regular attender at local races my views would be ....

tech t-shirt - definite yes, got a good one from Stockport10 last year that I use a lot (another cotton t-shirt is of no use to me).

Chip timing - not convinced it's needed I started about a quarter of the way back this year and it took me 8 secs to cross the line. Runners starting at the back may of course have a different view on this

Difficult one on the charity money, if the charity contributions were wideley publicised (as Wilmslow half does) then I don't think people would object

Thanks for another great race this year 

Martin,

           I have a cunning plan! Read on.

           East Cheshire hospice is very close to me and my familys heart,3 years ago my dad went there and we could not have asked for better treatment for him.No matter what time of night it was me and my sisters were always made to feel welcome and the nursing staff were amazing.

I realise i might be in a minority of one but why not market the event as all for East cheshire and Macmillian? Lets be really honest do we need another tee shirt and medal? Excuse my rough maths but  a tee shirt at say £5 ? and a medal at £1 =6 quid, multiplied by 870 runners equals £5220.Add that to the 8 grand raised already and BINGO 13 odd grand! Just give us a drink and a  pat on the back. I find goody bags a bit daft anyway,i've never ever had one at a fell race.Anyone else agree? Best regards.

Great race - my third time at this one. Friendly, very well organised, not too crowded - all good.

My preference would be to not bother with t-shirt and keep the cost to a minimum, but wouldn't mind a few extra quid if going to charities. The race isn't big enough to need chip timings and I can't believe anyone can be going for a PB on that course

Either way, I'll be there next year.

Thanks to get carter, ColW, Pink Lady1 and David Gillian who added really nice comments about my photos.

Honestly it does make it all so worthwhile.

I hope to see you all again in the near future.

In the meantime all the best with your training.

Kind regards.

Bryan
http://www.racephotos.org.uk

Bryan

your a star mate

you alone make the race worth it

Now I am blushing Mick 

What a super thing to say.  Bless you.

Hope to see you and Phil again soon. Not tomorrow though, you might find it tougher than usual getting through this maize field. 

http://www.racephotos.org.uk/HellraiserPhotos/13.jpg

That said, you are both toughies so I wouldn't bet against it. (Halloween Hellraiser, near Crewe).

Kind regards.

Bryan

Martin Rands wrote (see)

Thank you for coming to our race on Sunday! For 2010 we are considering chip timing and technical T-shirts, and how to increase the profit we give to charity. (£9,000 in 2009) The additional costs would mean an increase in entry fee of say £6, taking a club runners entry fee to £18. Is this worth it for you? Would you still come to our race? Would it make you more likely to come? Please let us know - we are trying to gauge opinion before we make any changes. Martin from the race committee

Mr. Puffy wrote (see)

Martin, thanks for a great race.  To put your proposal re the entry fee into perspective, Chester did chip timing this year plus an excellent technical T for £14 for a club runner. 

I'd think hard about £18, much as I enjoy this race.  I would probably pay, because it's clear where the money goes and I am very happy to support Macmillan and the Hospice, but it's still a 50% increase when you've already generated 9k.

And as above, you did a great job on the times, I had a cup of tea and was able to check mine out before I left, do you need chip timing?

Do you feel that runners are beginning to expect all the trappings of a "bupa" style event at races like yours?

well I just went to enter this year's race Martin, and I see you have put the price up after all.  As I said earlier in the thread I'll still enter because I like what you do, but if you hike it again next year I'll give it a miss.