My Event Ratings

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

In short: Thanks to Grass Roots for another excellent event
In full: Really enjoyed this event even though I didn't much feel like running on the day. Probably helped by nice sunny weather on the day.

Very well organised, with a friendly pre-race briefing from Steve Goulding. Thanks also Steve for encouragement at the end even though I ran a painfully slow time compared to my pre-injury days; even though it was a very flat course - definite PB potential in good conditions.

Good mix of runners, and nice to see team Ryan taking part. Nice for me personally to bump into an old friend at the end (sweaty hug time!)

Nice medal and jelly babies at the end. A t-shirt would be a nice addition but I understand this incurs extra expense and would be an organisational nightmare with so many entries on the day.

See you at the Rough n Tumble everyone.
Date of review: November 23, 2012

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

In short: Simply the best!
In full: Once again the Sodbury Slog shows everyone exactly how a race should be organised, and it's easy to run out of superlatives when rating it.

Everything was spot-on, right from the moment you enter the town of Chipping Sodbury with signs to the race HQ and parking.

Pre-race went like clockwork, no delays collecting race number and chip, well-manned baggage area and plentiful loos. Warm-up dancing 'Gangnum style' and of course the reading of the last post before the run is
a highlight of the year.

I thought it was just my appalling lack of fitness catching up with me but I have been informed that yes, it was in fact muddier than usual this year. A lot of fun though and a great training exercise.

We were blessed with glorious weather this year which meant I could take in the gorgeous views of the countryside, not something I always manage to do.

Very friendly runners and some friendly and encouraging spectators, unusual for an off-road event. Marshals ezxcellent as always, handing out drinks and jelly beans en route. And Hi to the nice young lady from Cardiff I was chatting to on the way back to the car!

Fantastic value for money meant an excellent goodie bag at the end including a lovely long-sleeved t-shirt, plus I bought a technical one for training!

It really doesn't get better than this and as long as nothing changes will be a constant on my race calendar. See you next year.
Date of review: November 12, 2012

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

In short: Glad to be back at this one
In full: Very glad to have done the Pewsey half this year, even though I was physically not in condition for it, and my thoughts were elsewhere.

Despite the lack of training and a much slower time than usual, I very much enjoyed this event again having missed it last year and a DNF in 2010.

I don't think I realised in previous years how pretty the scenery in this race is, possibly because I had more time to take it in this year, being so slow!

Very well organised, free parking at the start, clear instructions and well marked with lots of friendly and encouraging marshalls. Four water stations were a godsend on a warm day, but an energy drink or jelly babies might not have gone amiss.

Very friendly crowd, even if it was predominantly club runners. Lovely home made cakes, and a nice memento (a pump bag) to go with a decent t-shirt. Personally I don't understand why people prefer a medal, it's not as if you can do anything with them.

Look forward to seeing you again next year PVRC and a special thank you to Mark Anderson for being understanding of my situation and the nice lady marshall who was willing to keep a t-shirt for me had I been out on the course for longer than I was.
Date of review: August 28, 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		100%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: Still a great little race, but can we have the cakes and burgers back please?
In full: My favourite distance has always been half-marathon, but out of all the shorter distance events, this has to be my favourite. Such a pleasant afternoon out, a friendly little race, nice scenery, superb organisation and good value for money. Please see my comments from previous years for more.

I especially liked the paperweight memento this year. Regarding a previous rating, if I'd come 2nd or 3rd in my age group I'm sure I'd be disappointed not to receive a prize but can I please just offer the opinion that it is perhaps better for everyone to come away with a quality memento? We all pay our entry fee and put the same effort into the run!

We were blessed with good weather again but just a couple of things spoilt it for me. The race seemed to have a distinctly 'clubby' feel to it this year and I preferred it when there was a greater mix of abilities as I think that encourages more people to take my part. Again, just my opinion.

Also last year we all celebrated with a cake and a burger which we bought at the fete. This year a friend kindly offered to buy me a cake as it was a bit of a special celebration for me (I'd had to pull out of Lethbridge 10k the week before so just finishing was a great result). Sadly there was nowhere offering food for sale apart from a small stand where you had to decorate the cake yourself.

Look forward to coming here every year, but you can't have a great race without cakes!
Date of review: June 15, 2011

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

In short: Can't think of a better event for my comeback race
In full: Picked this as my first race back after a long and miserable winter of injury, having only done a few 5k park runs this year. I'm glad I picked this one, mainly for the friendly atmosphere and support around the course.

Very well organised especially given the number of people who attended. My sister and her husband were at the race but it was so busy I didn't see them!

Very pleasant run through the town and countryside and as I say the support for a small local race was superb - thanks to everyone who made the effort to cheer us on.

I wasn't sure how I would cope with a 10k so just ran with a friend doing his first ever 10k. Wouldn't describe the course as especially flat but some friends did get a PB so there must be potential there. Personally I was just delighted to get round painlessly, even if I was 20 minutes slower than my previous worst 10k time!

Not the cheapest of races but good value, nice goodie bag at the end, liked the towel which is useful for my gym classes and a lot better than a medal. Only gripe was having to queue for so long. In fairness, perhaps the organisers didn't know how many people would turn up, so it is to their credit that they didn't run out!

Have only done this once before in my running career but will make a mental note to make this a more regular fixture in my running calendar.

Well done Chippenham Harriers, see you at the half marathon in September.
Date of review: May 10, 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		100%

In short: Once again, the Sodbury Slog shows how it should be done
In full: Apologies for lack of feedback in previous years, I missed getting my entry in time last year but this will be a regular in my racing calendar as long as I am running.

Personally I can't say I enjoyed the slog as much as in previous years, but this is due to my own lack of fitness and does not reflect on the event itself. As well as being a lot of muddy fun, it's a good tough training run and not really one to do so soon after injury.

The organisation was out of this world as usual, the last post and two minutes' silence is always a nice touch and well observed.

Lots of camaraderie on the way round, I was struggling with my back so thanks to everyone who enquired about my well-being.

Fantastically well marshalled and supported, thanks for all your encouragement and good humour.

Brilliant value for money and a great goodie bag with proper goodies (mars bar, flapjack, biscuits..), my only slight gripe was there were no t-shirts left in a large when I finished but hey I need to slim down to a medium anyway! Besides, the quality is fantastic.

Other race organisers should take note, there's a reason why this event attracts more runners than a lot of major town's half marathons.

Thank you Bitton Road runners, see you at the Hanham Horror.
Date of review: November 15, 2010

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		80%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		40%

In short: This has the potential to be a classic
In full: Being a big fan of the Hogweed Trotters' excellent Hilly Half I was expecting great things from this race. If a few things are improved upon this could be a classic race.

Most of all, the directions in some places do need to be improved upon, but I expect it can't be easy to put signs everywhere on a course like this. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was confused and had to guess a couple of times. It was a very small field, and having not run due to injury for a few months I struggled to keep up with the pack.

Also a better loud speaker is needed as we couldn't hear a word of the pre-race briefing.

These are minor points however, and are more than outweighed by the good things. The scenery was fantastic, and I stopped to take in the views a few times. Good tough, challenging course, ideal preparation for cross country season. Excellent value at a tenner and a very pretty medal. Lovely tea and cakes at the finish. Friendly and supportive marshals and a friendly, but slightly clubby, bunch of runners.

Hope to come back next year, aim to have a go at the major if I'm fully fit!
Date of review: October 18, 2010

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

In short: Please don't let this event become a money-making exercise
In full: This was my first half marathon in 2005, and as it is my local event I have taken part every year since then. I desperately wanted to compete this year, but having been injured I hadn't done the requisite training to do it justice.

I am firmly of the belief that event organisers need to take a more sympathetic approach to runners who enter events with the best intentions, but later find they can't because of circumstances beyond their control. You only have to look at the number of reviews I've posted on here to see how much I enjoy taking part in events and clearly wouldn't drop out without good reason.

I was therefore quite disappointed when I gave up my race number for a friend wanting to compete in the multi-terrain race. We would happily have paid a small admin fee to sign the number over to her, which seems much fairer than her having to pay £11.50 on the day just for five miles.

Neither of us foresaw her winning the event, and if we had she would definitely have entered under her own name. I just wanted her to enjoy the run.

We were disappointed at the attitude of the event organisers at first when they wanted to disqualify her and not let her claim her prize. The place in the race was paid for; it was the administration that needs improving.

I didn't even have time to ask if I could change the name as we were late due to hold-ups getting into the car park, and having to collect timing chips on the day was only ever going to add to delays.

All that aside, as a spectator the event seemed to run like clockwork, a challenging course which is well marshalled and supported, and a nice t-shirt and medal at the end.

I really hope there is no ill feeling about what happened and look forward to taking part regularly in future.
Date of review: October 12, 2010

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

In short: I wanted to do it so much I even entered even though I wasn't fit
In full: I didn't have a good experience at all at the Pewsey half this year. I am on the mend after a nasty attack of sciatica, and entered even though I knew I probably wouldn't finish it. In the end I had to drop out before I'd even reached the 3 mile marker.

But that should tell you everything you need to know about the event. I was desperate to do it because I love the event so much (all of PVRC's races, truth be told).

A lovely scenic run on the bank holiday weekend, a reasonable price, good organisation and a t-shirt at the end, and it's probably worth the trip for the cakes alone!

Thanks to the organisers and the St John's Ambulance guys who looked after me and took me back to race HQ. It was still worth the trip out.

Hopefully see you next year in a state to actually complete and enjoy the race properly!
Date of review: September 2, 2010

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

In short: Very slickly done, highly enjoyable FREE weekly race!!
In full: My first time at the park run and long overdue. Had been intending to give it a go for some time and will now be a regular attendee.

I can't get over how slickly this is done, the system is so simple and well organised it is brilliant! It makes you wonder why the barcode system can't be introduced at all races.

Pleasant run through the park but a bit hot to be running at the moment. Best of all though, it is completely FREE and all the organisation is done by volunteers.

Turn up and give it a go, it's fun, sociable and attracts a wide diversity of abilities. What else have you got to do on a Saturday morning?
Date of review: July 12, 2010

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