Latest Ratings
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2013 BUCHLYVIE 10K
 | | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Third time I've done this race and again it doesn't disappoint.I love running down the country path and it's the perfect location for a run. The course does narrow, a lot, near the turn-point, but other than that it's perfect.
Date of review: March 4, 2013
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2008 Freckleton Half Marathon
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: A great race
In full: I usually find races which attempt to do lots of unnecessary add-ons end up messing up on the important things.
I want a race which has a decent course, an appropriate number of runners rather than overcrowding, some decent scenery, free from cars brushing past you while you're running in a gutter and somewhere to park. A clock on the finish line is always a bonus as well.
This race manages to combine all that (and a decent supply of pre-race toilets) with all the fancy-dan add-ons which normally involve race organisers taking their eye off the reason people are there in the first place. It has a funfair, a fun run and plenty to keep kids happy. It has interesting momento's which are actually usable and seasoned runners will like. Organisers who concentrate on these things usually produce races which disappoint in my opinion, but at Freckleton this is far from the case.
This is one of, if not the only, race I know which appeals both as a running and social event, being faultless in both respects. I wish there were more events like this on the calendar.
Date of review: June 23, 2008
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2007 Norwich Union City v City 10K Run - Liverpool
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: I am officially quicker than the rush hour traffic :)
In full: For some unknown reason I really love the concept of running through the tunnel - that would make it a good race on its own for me. But there were so many other positives aspect of this race, and the great view for the last third of the race which is why I really liked it.
The free train travel is very, very welcome as well and something I'd love to see more races organise. Its obviously important given its not exactly for those of us who aren't Jesus to walk back to our cars, but there is no reason why more races couldn't do a deal for free public transport to and from the race really.
I don't like the concept of this 'average time challenge' against other cities though. Surely the city with the most runners, or most under a hour would be a better way of achieving what the organisers want to achieve. Going on about which city has the fastest average time being important is hardly going to motivate thos people who would finish outside the top 50% to take part really.
Date of review: June 3, 2007
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2007 walton park 5 mile
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Nice little race in a nice little park
In full: I like this race - its one of those which does all the basics well and doesn't bother with any of the Fancy Dan stuff. You also get a nice towel for running which is a nice change from most races.
You've got tons of parking, a traffic-free course, good and supportive marshalls, changing facilities and plenty of places for the kids to play if you're going to drag them along - top marks for all the basics with this race which is why I like it. There is a good range of abilities and a supportive atomsphere so I'd recommend this to anyone.
Date of review: May 29, 2007
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2007 Mizuno Liverpool Half-Marathon
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great course - can we keep this route please
In full: For me this was a very good, well-organised run. Speaking as someone who neither drove, nor needs to drink during a half, the problems others faced never affected me.
The park and ride was very useful for me - it made using public transport the best option. I was slightly worried when I saw the length of the bus queue, but there were lots of buses so that wasn't an issue.
I really enjoyed the course and thought it varied quite a bit. It was also nice to have lots of little bits with seeing the runners coming the other way, but not just in long straight roads. I really hope they keep it this way round next year as its certainly the best course I can remember the race having.
Date of review: March 25, 2007
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2007 Adidas Flora London Half-Marathon
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Those 180mph corners seemed a lot slower than that
In full: I entered this race as I love F1 and wanted to see Silverstone. I had heard stories of the course being very boring so wasn't expected too much. But I realy enjoyed the course, from a running point of view. There isn't a great deal of scenery to be fair, but you get get views of the snake of runners behind and ahead of you and no ugly buildings - was far nicer than running up some A-road with traffic streaming past you.
Despite the large numbers of people, the track was wide enough to avoid people really getting in your way so you could run your own race from the start, which is usually for a mass-participation event.
The course was interesting as well with plenty of turns rather than lon straight streches and it did manage to take in some slightly different areas behind the main stands, including a bridge which I wasn't expecting. It could be a fast course on the right day but is a nightmare when its as windy as it was this year - still, a month before London a half-marathon which builds stamina and strength is far better than an easy one.
The marshalls and spectators were great and encouraging, even when freezing in strong winds and hail so that was very nice to see. There was plenty of water and sports drink on the course so generally a good race.
The car park was very good and large and I had no problems getting out - although the road to the motorway was very slow-moving at one point.
The only downside for me was the Mile-Markers. The organisers had taken great care to make sure there were clocks every mile, to go that bit further than most races. However, this meant they were lying on the ground, which meant you couldn't see them at times so they were effectively the same as if they weren't there at all. Having the mile markers on posts, with the clocks on the floor, would have been a lot better in my opinion.
Overall I'd say its a very good race for people who want a traffic-course course and decent facilities. For an event like that it was good value as well rather than the excessive fees you see for some mass-participation events. The only slight downside was the mile-markers not always being visible to everyone.
Speaking as a F1 fan, the only downsides were me where starting with a chequered flag (surely that should have been at the end - it just made it seem a little tacky, finishing with a chequered flag and starting with the lights would have been better) and why was the Silverstone Merchandise shut on a day people had travelled down to see the course?
Date of review: March 19, 2007
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2007 Vision Express Stafford 20
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: A good training run, but little else
In full: Overall I was quite disappointed with this race. Like many people in the race I am training for the London Marathon and thought that a 20-mile race would be more appealing than a 20-mile training run on my own.
I wasn't impressed with the way a large part of the race was on an A-road, running with back to traffic - no pavements/grass verges and single file running. This made overtaking difficult and we were largely just running in a gutter. Personally I would have found a training run more enjoyable - and safer.
I thought it was unbelievable that they managed to have tiny bollards on the course in the early stages, where they couldn't been seen. They didn't even warn us before the start that they were - or at least not at a volume which the non-elite runners could hear. Since we were running around the inside of a campus - off main roads, they must have been able to find a safer way of making up the distance. That road we started on through the campus was far too narrow as well for my liking - and I hated the bit that narrowed due to the fencing.
I always found the end very confusing. I wasn't sure if we had to go back up the drive to the start or continue down the main road - a marshall there would have been helpful. And the odd U-turn into the car park for the finish gave us no idea we were near the end. I thought the course itself could have been explained much better.
For me the map to the venue was quite poor - why do race organisers always insist on putting A54 on their maps but never tell you if its A54 East or A54 West you need. Still, the uni was well signposted so wasn't a problem for me.
Finally, holding the presentation in the room with the only foodstand was stupid in my opinion. After the race I wanted something to eat so should be able to actually get to the food place, not have to ask loads of people to move who are stood in the way watching the presentation. That was especially bad given they gave out tea in paper cups which were a nightmare to carry past people watching something.
Aside from that, the course was decent enough - having the hills at the start of the laps made the rest of it less daunting. Marshalls were good and the showers were the best I've ever seen at a race. Excellent price for a race. Its just a pity for me they seemed to do some stuff really well, but fall down on basic things - like safety and giving you a course with plenty of room on.
Date of review: March 11, 2007
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2007 Hit The Trail 5
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 20% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: How can 5 miles be so hard?
In full: I really enjoyed this race, even though it was a very tough run. The course is even flat or stupidly steep all the way round which really, really takes it out of you. Still, I wanted a challenging race and couldn't really have asked for a better one. The scenery there is undoubtedly the nicest I've ever seen in a race and that waterfall just looks so inviting when so sweaty and muddy.
The Jaffa Cakes at the end was a very nice touch - they were definately needed after such a challenging run.
The marshalls were encouraging all the way round which was important given how tiring the event is (especially if you put your sprint finish in at the wrong hill like I did) and it was an enjoyable day all round.
The only bad mark against the race for me though is the leaflet saying you needed to leave the M60 at junction 13. Its lucky that I remembered the way from last year as I was quite worried when I saw the signs saying Stockport was junctions 26&27.
Date of review: January 14, 2007
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2006 Festive 5
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Well-organised race in a nice location
In full: This was a good little race. It might have had a bit of a maverick starting system but at least they didn't leave people standing around getting cold.
The course is a good with no real hills but plenty of speed bumps along the way. The two laps outside of the park seemed to pass quite quickly and it was nice starting and finishing on the track.
I enjoyed the Sale 10 at the same place (organised by the same club as well) earlier in the year, and will certainly return for both in 2007.
Date of review: December 31, 2006
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2006 Stockport 10
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 40% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Really good 10-miler, with superb organisation
In full: I really enjoyed this race and could see its something a lot of people had a lot of people were very proud of putting on - and I think that pride is very well deserved.
But, I'm going to start off with a criticism, namely that the course was too narrow for the numbers of runners. There were too many places which were single-file for my liking - especially on the hills which meant people like me who like to attack them couldn't as we were unable to pass people who take them slowly. I don't really know what the answer to this is really, other than to accept that its not a course where you can expect a good time - although I'm guessing the steep hills make many people think that anyway.
That said, it would be a shame to change the course as it was very good, challenging and presented some nice views. There was a lot of variety in the race, which is something I always appreciate.
The marshalls seem to be getting a lot of praise, which is entirely deserved. Despite the conditions they were always happy, encouraging and really added a lot to the race. I thought the PA reading out the names of the runners as they entered the track was a very, very nice touch as well.
The free banana's at the end were very welcome as well.
One thing that did annoy me about this race though were those idiots who, having finished the race, decided to walk out of the gates (and therefore along the course) in the way of oncoming runners. I had to run around two finishers and nearly push a fool out of my way who stepped right in front of me. I can never understand why people who have competed a race so frequently show such disregard for people who are still running. To be fair, the organisers did tell people to stay off the course over the PA, but should the organisers really be put in a position where they have to marshall what the finishers are doing to runners?
Date of review: December 10, 2006
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