My Event Ratings

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

In short: Excellent Race
In full: I really can't fault this race. If you are looking for a marathon to beat your PB, with reasonable support and pleasant scenery, you'd struggle to beat this. Definitely in my top 3 road marathons with Amsterdam and MK.
Date of review: October 26, 2012

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: One of the best
In full: This was my 49th marathon and I would definitely put this in the top 5 that I've done. Flatest course you could imagine and a very scenic off-road route. There were about 300 competitors so the last half was a bit of a personal time trial, but for someone who wants a fast time and can organise for perfect weather as we had, this is the race to do.
Date of review: April 30, 2012

Report this rating to the moderator

Overall score		40%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		40%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Pleasant race, but needs tweaking
In full: Many positives: Good race HQ close to the start, friendly race, reasonable course with a lot of variety, good value for money, regular and well stocked water stations, fair amount of support.

There are other points needing attention. The marshaling was non existent for long periods. If someone had come along and removed an arrow the whole race could have fallen apart. There was no marshal policing the bank towards the canal, which was positively dangerous.

This is not a PB course as there are too many slow sections and obstacles - adding about 10 minutes to a tarmac run.


Date of review: December 20, 2011

Report this rating to the moderator

Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		40%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		100%
Organisation		60%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: Really enjoyabloe
In full: My third time at London and I really enjoyed it. As I am training for a 100 miler I could just treat it as a training run with no pressure and enjoy the day. Once it thinned out I got into my running I did a negative split for the first time. Marathon heaven! It's a really great feeling to get stronger as the race goes on.

The crowds were great and thanks to all the volunteers who did a great job.

London is not a pb race unless you can go off the GFA start and I do feel sorry for those who trained hard and couldn't convert it in the race. Hopefully if that applies to you, you've got the marathon bug and will achieve your goal in a smaller event or a better big city marathon (try Dublin, Edinburgh or Amsterdam).
Date of review: April 26, 2010

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Really well organised, mostly off road marathon.
In full: This was a friendly event, which was great value and really well organised. It was a clockwise cicum-navigation of Bedford taking in some lovely scenery. The LDWA style instructions were outstanding and made for a very easy to follow race. The three checkpoints were well placed and well stocked.

Thanks to the organisers for such a pleasing event.
Date of review: March 21, 2010

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: A very pleasant run and good end to the year.
In full: This is a very unassuming local race, which was a pleasure to run. For the flatlands the scenery was fairly pleasant and very rural.

It is a very flat course and has real PB potential. The only slope is at 8.5 km and to be frank if I hadn't been warned about it I might not have noticed it!

The organisation was good and the results were posted on the (informative) website very quickly after the race. Thanks to all concerned.
Date of review: January 1, 2010

Report this rating to the moderator

Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		80%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		80%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		100%

In short: Just great to get out on Boxing Day for a run.
In full: This a completely unpretentious race which suits runners of all abilities. It's a great opportunity to meet up with friends and fellow runners after the excesses of Christmas Day.

Thanks to the organisers for making sure the race took place. The course change added a bit of challenge running back down the hill against the traffic!

Thanks to all the organisers.
Date of review: December 29, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In full: Thanks to Royston for organising an enjoyable race at a difficult time of year. The facilities at the start and refreshments at the end were very good.

The first two miles were a bit dull but the middle section more than made up for it.

A couple of observations - a course profile would have been nice and the instructions sounded quite officious.

Thanks again to the organisers and marshals for a very enjoyable race.


Date of review: December 29, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		80%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Tough course. Well organised. This is what trail running is all about.
In full: I really enjoyed this run - beautiful scenery on a very challenging course. The route was easy to follow and well supported by marshals and public alike. This sort of race is why I continue to run.

I don't know whether I was having a bad spell, but there seemed to be a big gap between the second and third water stations.

I liked the technical top and one member of the family has shown an interest in the ruck sack! The breakfast was a nice touch.

Thanks to the organisers for putting together a great race.
Date of review: October 28, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

Overall score		100%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		40%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		40%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: Stunning scenery and great support along the route
In full: This is certainly the most scenic road marathon I've done. The views down the valley between 4 and 6 miles take your breath away.

It's pretty tough in places, especially the long hill at 21-23, but there are long down hills as well. The amount of support was surprising and the marshalls did a great job - thanks.

Perhaps I missed something, but why nor start on the road up from Llanberis (which was closed anyway) and hence get rid of the need for buses? Then you could also get rid of the rather annoying loop in Llanberis at the end.

But this was a fantastic race - the first of my three marathons last weekend and it was certainly worth the effort of getting up to North Wales.

Thanks to everyone who made it such an enjoyable experience.
Date of review: October 27, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator