My Event Ratings

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

In short: Great Job PWAC
In full: Once again PWAC have excelled themselves with the Paddock Wood Half Marathon.
There were loads of portaloos, they had marshalls directing people to the next free one & replacing toilet rolls as soon as they ran out and there were even air fresheners in each one, a really nice touch and much more pleasant that the usual portaloo experience.

There were plenty of car parks in the area, some free and some available for a small charge.

The water stations were evenly spread and one of the sponge stations even had a set of stocks with a "victim" just waiting to collect a wet sponge in the face...

I managed to make a mess of the start due to some gadget issues but still managed a 2 1/2 minute PB.

Well done, definitely back again next year!
Date of review: April 2, 2012

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

In short: Excellent race, excellent course, well done TRR
In full: Having done this in 2009 I knew what to expect and you didn't let me down.
The organisation was pretty much perfect, although a couple more portaloos at the HQ would always come in handy, there were reasonable public toilets by the start as well but not everyone knew this hence the long queues.

I wear contact lenses and you were able to provide a room with a sink and soap so that I could put them in without going near the alcohol hand cleaners in the portaloos.

Excellent marshalling as always, plenty of encouragement and directions where needed.

Thank Thanet, another excellent race, see you next year hopefully...
Date of review: March 5, 2012

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

In short: Excellent course and a PB to boot :-)
In full: Heard good things about this race, fast, mostly rural, a few hills and even a ford thrown in for good measure if you fancied it (I didn't).

The climbs during the 4th and 7th miles were pretty testing but the rest of the course was fast.

Very enjoyable and a 4 minute PB to boot!
Date of review: January 30, 2012

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

In short: Excellent organisation and a PB too
In full: Lashing rain driving down from Strood which stopped with an hour to spare, so the remaining cloud cover and light breeze made for perfect conditions despite the roads being wet and potentially slippery on road markings and manhole covers.

Not the flatest race but by no means hilly,

A well organised and friendly race with only minor hiccups during the kids races.
The organisers even warned us about the water leak at 8K which was just about repaired when we went past.

My only grumble was the pretty ineffective megaphone at the start, it was impossible to hear the instructions and there was a bit of a false start due to the whistle to attract our attention being confused with a signal to start.

That got everyone's attention and the rest of the race went off smoothly.

Well done to the organisers and to Givaudan for sponsoring the event and offering their car parks.
Date of review: October 10, 2011

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

In short: Lovely trail run with testing ascents and descents
In full: You know how this one's going to go when the 1st mile ends with a steep, flinty, rutted stepped descent off the North Downs.
Good mixture of undulating, twisty trails, muddy, slippery paths, long climbs and the odd steep ascents and descents.

If you don't like this circuit, you can always reverse it in February ;-)

Defintely be back next year.
Date of review: August 28, 2011

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

In short: Glorious, brilliant race as always
In full: Ooh, that was tough today, I was only slightly slower than my last full on attempt in 2008 but I feel totally shattered. Going to have a lie down for a few days to recover....

Congratulations to Andy (King XC) for such a smoothly organised race, there's a huge amount of work that takes place to get this run every year that many people probably wouldn't evn think of and once again you've come up trumps. He was out until around 1am today finalising the course markings and then joined us out there as well.

Thanks also to the marshalls, always cheerful and offering support as well as the usual course directions, thanks everyone.

The cakes were wonderful, as always, had a lovely hunk of Bread Pudding which is highly recommended.
Date of review: June 19, 2011

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

In short: Great event, possibly needs one more water station?
In full: Really enjoyed this 10K, couldn't sign up before the race due to a slight niggle in my knee but it wasn't too expensive in any case.

Conditions were ideal in the build up but as per usual the rain stopped, the skies cleared and the sun came out.

The cooling breeze disappeared in a couple of sheltered spots and this coupled with the sunny conditions and the single water station made the race a little tougher than it might otherwise have been. Perhaps it would be possible to place a second water station in the grounds of Bradbourne House next year?

Great race, excellent value and definitely PB potential, I'll be back next year all being well.....
Date of review: May 8, 2011

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

In short: Excellent event, really enjoyed it and ended up with a massive PB!!!
In full: This was the first time that I've actually been able to run the Paddock Wood half marathon as I got injured a few days after entering it in 2007.

It lived up to my expectations as a fast, flat race and good as a build up to the London marathon; I even slashed 7:44 off my previous PB by finishing in 1:28:15 :-)

The only issue that I found was a long wait for the portaloos, even with an hour to go before the race started. Otherwise the organisation was superb, rapid baggage drop and collection, plenty of drinks during and after the race, orange segments and a reasonable goodie bag.
Date of review: March 31, 2011

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

In short: Wonderful race yet again
In full: Once again the North Downs 30K lived up to its reputation as one of the best races in the country, faultless organisation, excellent marshalling and route marking, plenty of water stations (with water, isotonic liquids, energy gels and jelly babies) and an excellent post race pack (Technical Tee, homemade cakes, a medal, water, fruit, etc...)

Hopefully the improvements that the Cascades leisure centre is undergoing will include the toilets which this year were very poor (they wouldn't flush, wouldn't flush away or had no tissue).
Date of review: June 20, 2010

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

In short: Excellent London prep race with a few testing hills
In full: My 1st time doing the Thanet 20, plenty of fast flat and occasionally twisty sections punctuated by some nasty little climbs and descents. Really enjoyed it and will be back for more next year.
Only a minor issue but more toilets were needed at the HQ.
Date of review: March 2, 2009

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