Rutland Water Marathon

Great race, the weather made it tough though, thought I might have been better off in wellies at some points!! Agree 100% with the comments about the Marshalls and Cadets, everyone had a smile and encouragement for us, they were the stars today.

Very pleased with my first marathon time of around 3:45 ish... had to go over the timing mat twice at the finish to get my chip to register when the guy with the ipad said to me "your chips not registered, you'll have to go round again". I had horrible thoughts of having to go all the way round again.... lol...

OMG! That was wet and cold! Around 9mins quicker than last year, suppose I'll have to have another go next year.

The cadets were great... Apart from the one who referred to be as a jogger!!!! The Cheek!!! He did have a big smile on his face as he said it and handed me my water...

I was impressed by the way the cadets kept their attitude and gave positive encouragement throughout, despite the fact that they were spending their Sunday standing in the rain, so that a group of eccentrics could run a marathon!

Having ran this race today I have agree with the comments about the marshals and cadets enthusiasm in light of such terrible weather!

I also have to add how sorely disappointed I was with this race on a value for money basis.

Having been on the road since 6:30am I was horrified that upon our arrival at the Sykes lane car park that they were closed and not open till 10am. Making our way to the start was equally as disappointing as no toilet facilities were present there either. As far as start lines go I was amazed to see just an inflatable arch, a gazebo and a gazebo. In light of the weather a bag drop would have been gratefully received rather than merely throwing a carrier bag into the back of a transit!

The course was littered with water stations but these consisted of plastic cups filled by the cadets which ranged from quarter to half full at best and were somewhat inadequate for hydration in light of the distance. Bottles of water and periodic sports drinks are the future 'fat feet'.

The end was as unimpressive as the start and as for the 'goody bag' what was with an incomplete finishers certificate and a generic vest (its winter you know!) making no reference to the marathon whatsoever despite the website indicating vest or tshirt. Silver blankets should have been a standard feature today and ill be amazed if some people were not seriously ill in light of the weather.

This is where a bag drop would have come into its own, standing around in wet clothes waiting for the minibus or facing a 20 minute walk back to Sykes lane was a big ask today.

I generally feel that the organisers put profit before satisfaction today and I've felt it necessary to email them to explain this. I've seen better facilities at local club races for less than a tenner!

I can say I won't be visiting this race again or indeed recommended it despite the lovely scenery and route unless 'fat feet' seriously up their game!

Did anyone else have problems with the chip mats?... Both times on the peninsular and at the finish for it to register. All 3 times I was about to get down on all 4s but was saved by the beep. No idea yet if the start registered me. The problem? I had the race number on my chest rather than on my belly

Brrrrrr - only just warmed upon enough to type....

This is certainly a no frills event with a dubious goody bag.....however it is the most scenic and wonderfully varied surface and elevation event that I have entered in normal running shoes.

Personally I think £35 is great value for the priviledge to run this event and I'll certainly be back next year -  it's all about the magnificent course and that's just fine by me.

A big thank-you to Fat Feet for organising and an even bigger thanks to the cadets and marshalls who endured such woeful weather.

Top tip for next year - nip into the Italian restaurant at the end of the car-park - Arriabata to die for....

New to this marathon, would like to have done it on a sunny day as it was heads downs and keep going in the rain! I like the undulating course and run alot of offroad events, so the cattle grids and gates did not worry me. Was parked in Normanton, so it worked out just fine for me at the finish. Nice to see gels being handed out but I always carry the ones I like. Thought the cadets were very good, lots of positive comments as they stood getting soaked.

Not impressed with the non event specific vest, sure I was given the choice of a shirt (which I would wear to train in). Glad I have done it but not sure I would return,

 

It appears I also had an issue with the timing matts although no one mentioned it at the time.  I only know this as I don't feature in the results! 

Perhaps those who loved the scenery, me included, but didn't love the organisation, can set up our own running of the distance.  That way our enjoyment is entirely in our own hands!

I was less than impressed, and have made my feelings known to the organisers.  I compare it to the South Downs marathon I ran last year, which had a big finish area, lots of hot food, and a great community spirit.  Oh, and both a race-specific medal, proper big goodie bag, and a race-specific t-shirt (they promised a Salomon tech t-shirt but failed to deliver, but some things can be overlooked if everything else is good!).

I was shocked that there was no official bag drop off. I spent over half ano hour trying to find one. There was an unmanned empty tent with a muddy floor which a marshall suggested might have a member of staff in it to ask. I even tried the cafe and bike shop as last resorts. In the end I lugged my holdall to the start and put it in with the carrier bags as there were no other options. Thank God for the person there being so understanding. It was annoying that the organisers never stated that having a car there was compulsory. It meant a 7-minute late start for me and running alone for several miles, despite arriving in plenty of time.

Just had a look at the results - only 327 finishers - not too sure how many entered but likely to be very substantially fewer than the 1,000 limit and this may go some way toward explaining the lack of goodies at the end.

 

 

 

Which is certainly a theory, Matt, but it'd have been useful having someone explaining that to people, rather than the "not my job" approach I got at the start line when I asked one of the staff why there was no medal this year, for example.

It doesn't explain the pretty pointless vest and bit of card, though, which would have been there for all, no matter how many entered.  Or the fact that by the time some of us late stragglers came through, all they had was small sizes.  Makes me think that either all the faster ones took medium when they should have had small, or the organisers had too many small they'd over-ordered from another event.  I know which my money is on!

 

Maybe time for an official reponse from the Fat Feet team?

It's only the third time they've organised this and everytime they have listened to the feedback. The first race there were only 3 water stations.

My belief is as mentioned above that it's a basic 'no frills' trail marathon. Had the weather been better none of the above gripes would really have been an issue. I'm sure there was a proper reception/check in/baggage store last year. Maybe not enough used it.

They're on FaceBook and you'll get a response if you post something. Given the weather, a shelter at the end should have been minimum. I stood in the baggage area for a bit out if the wind to recover.

The winning time of 2:49 should say something about the race conditions.

Which is fine, Tim, if it had been a basic no-frills price, too.  To be honest, I'm not sure any of the "gripes" as you call them were weather-related - if it had been a sunny day, a poor memento and goody bag would have been equally poor.  An uninspiring finish line would have remained that.

The winning time is the winning time, I think it's pretty irrelevant.  We all deal with the conditions in different ways.

Can't help but agree with other comments here.  Had this been billed - and priced! - as a fat-ass/no-frills event, no cause for complaint.  It wasn't. Looking at what you get in other similarly priced events, it is very poor value for money, which is a shame, as the course and surroundings are (or would be in better weather) spectacular.  Very very disappointing, it really should be one of the 'must-do' events of the marathon calendar, but I can't see that happening unless the present organisers have a re-think of how it is managed. 

On the vest front, I think the reason later finishers ended up with the wrong size could again be put down to poor organisation.  I have a medium, which is far too big for me, not that I would ever wear it anyway.  There was no obvious sorting of the bags into sizes, or none that my near-hypothermic brain could fathom. Why didn't the people manning the 'goody bag' stand ask what size you wanted?  Also, the energy bars would have been appreciated on the course, rather than just at the end - I think this is the first marathon I have ever seen where no additional sustenance beyond water and the odd gel was provided.  Great Yarmouth was equally wet, but they still managed to provide jelly babies etc.  Coffee and tea at the end would have been fantastic too.

I am curious, too, about how much Anglian Water made out of this and will certainly email them to try and find out.

To finish on a positive note, the youngsters marshalling were exceptional.  Cheerful and smiling despite the weather conditions, even at the end.  I hope a generous donation is made to them.

I was looking for an example of a similar type of race at a cheaper price, and have found one.  The Giants Hill marathon, in June next year.  Costs £25 to £27 (affiliated and unaffiliated), and includes "specially minted race medal and tech tshirt and enhanced goody bag with special gifts from our sponsors, Lush Cosmetics and Dorset Brewing Company and many more to be announced."  They'll also have beer, hog roasts, and WI teas, coffees and cakes at the finish line.  Obviously it remains to be seen whether the day stands up to the advertising, but it's worth a look.

TimR wrote (see)

 
The winning time of 2:49 should say something about the race conditions.

What has that got to do with anything?

It was cold and wet, so what. My only gripe was that every mile marker was spot on with my garmin, apart from the overall distance being 26.5 miles.  Having run newport marathon last weekend at 28 miles, why is this so difficult to get right.

Last year they gave out medals and race specific cotton t-shirts and everyone moaned about them not being technical t-shirts. So looks like they listened to that feed back.

Unfortunately I did not race last year, I couldn't even run 5k then so would have liked a medal. Will just have to write my name on the certificate and frame that instead.

I ordered a small top and I got a small top, bonus