My Event Ratings

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

In short: Oh. My. God.
In full: First time I've done this event and boy what a day to start. This feedback begins and ends with the good fellows (and co-opted children, partners and pets !) of Steyning AC. No praise can be too high for the marshalls who were out for hours in just about the worst conditions imaginable - especially up on the top where the cold wind and freezing rain were evil.

Lovely route (on a clear day) was turned into a cloudy, slippery quagmire by the incessant rain, and staying upright was a challenge for much of the race, let alone running. I fell five times, on the last time (400 yds from the finish) I just lay in the mud laughing to myself at the ridiculousness of the whole thing.

Thank you again Steyning for fabulous organisation. Will be back next year, with hopes of better weather, and some better footwear !
Date of review: March 5, 2012

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

In short: Just........awesome
In full: Wow. What a great day out. Yes, it's as hard as hell in parts (last 6/7 miles are brutal) but the weather was perfect, the organisation faultless and fellow runners cheerful and sociable.

Good start/finish arrangements, fabulous marshalling (cheery 'well done' from every one), wonderful checkpoints and a nice meal at the end (great chance to chat to fellow runners).

Top rating though goes to the South Downs - on a bright, crystal clear day the views were just sensational. If the organsiers could have ordered weather they would he ordered todays.

Almost impossible to find anything to be improved, but I'm not really sure why chip timing was needed. It's not that kind of race, and I didn't see any split-time mats anywhere. Save a few quid and don't bother......!

Top, top event as usual and thanks and well done to all at Eastbourne Council and others that put this together.
Date of review: October 22, 2011

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

In short: The scenery is the star...................love this event
In full: Well done 2:09, another excellent event.

Good bits :
-starting arrangements (parking, buses, number pickup, refreshments, lovely atmosphere at Slindon College). Like clockwork.
-marshalling and water stations. Very well spaced for a logistically difficult route
-atmosphere on the course. One of the friendliest events going, from elite downwards (Christ some of the 'blue' runners were quick !)
-nice finish (with commentary), free milk shake (nectar !),nice goody bag & great medal
-with parking arrangements, very quick to get away once done

To improve ?
-disappointed not to get a tech T shirt this time, but the cotton one is nice. Also not completely clear at the end where to get bags/shirts, but as someone before has said, that may have been me and my brian not functioning at the end of this !

Other than that, can't really find any fault with this. Overall this is a wonderful event, the real star of the show being the glorious South Downs. Yesterday was a fabulously clear day which made the views even better than normal. This race would even suit a beginner - although don't underestimate the hills, they are brutal and relentless in parts and just keep coming, particularly in miles 13-20 (just when you need them !). Take your time, relax, walk the big ones and take this race for what it is (for most of us)........a superb day out with some exercise thrown in.
Date of review: June 12, 2011

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

In short: Brighton at it's best.....
In full: Wonderful event. Missed last year due to injury and watched from the sidelines, was determined to make it this year and despite further injuries in the lead-up I'm so glad I did.

Apart from the heat (first couple of hours were OK until the breeze dropped), the whole day was fabulous. Well organised start area, just the right amount of runners (busy but not crowded), superb feeding stations sensibly spaced and with bottles that could be carried, brilliant support workers, calm and organised finish area for collapsing etc and very quick results service.

Also need to mention the truly wonderful crowds who made this event so spectacular - Brighton has taken this new event to it's heart. I've done London 5 times, I found this more uplifting and a better experience all round. Even the dreaded 'Power Station' bit was well supported.....

Finally, with the right weather and training, this is a definite PB course. The modest undulations are all early in the race, with halfway on being pancake flat.

Congratulations to all concerned - brilliant job. See you next year.
Date of review: April 12, 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		80%

In short: Top, top event, well done Pilgrims
In full: To echo some earlier comments, this was a truly superb event (full marathon - which on my Garim was actually 26.8m - oddly the 21m marker (hanging from the tree) was exactly right, but the '4m to go' sign wasn't!)

Good stuff :
-wonderful, mixed terrain route. Lots of sand (ooh !), single file tracks, fields, tarmac, shaded woodland, great views and a few quirks like the 'up and around the ruined Chapel' section that some sadist decided would be fun
-a real test. Some killer hills (St Martha's in particular) and occassionally tricky underfoot, but also some nice long gentle stretches
-fabulous organisation at start, during and finish. Exceptionally well marshalled at every possible turning with cheery, encouraging faces
-plenty of well stocked feeding stations
-great start and especially finish with ample refreshments, finish line commentary, brass band etc
-great value at £20 including chip timing. I wonder what the GNR entry cost ?????

Could improve for next year :
-erm, nope, honestly can't really think of anything (apart from getting cramp having to climb over so many stiles after half way, but that's down to my fitness not the organisers !). Only caution would be not to increase runner numbers given the number of narrow paths on the course

Brilliant effort Franham Pilgrims, thanks to all involved. Hope to see you next year.
Date of review: September 20, 2010

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

In short: Well done Striders
In full: Loved this, despite a detour of severakl miles near the start diue tio a group of us missing a marker. We rejoined the course at the 6/9m checkpoint having done 9m anyway, so it didn't matter (although a few of the 100 MC were a bit stressed about whether they would do enough miles).

Lovely route, but very slippery in places due to unseasonal rain. Views would be fabulous if visibility was more than a few yards !Conditions on the day were atrocious at times but this just made it all the more 'enjoyable'.

And to the organisers, marshalls etc ? Thank you so much for making this small, exceptionally friendly but challenging event (this is a tough course - don't underestiamte it) such a good one. How you sat out in those conditions for several hours is beyond me (especially the Group at Bo Peep the second time I went through - the rain at that time was bordering on biblical). Start and finish was very well organised with nice touches, and goody bag/memento was good for a small event

Great job, please keep it going and hope to see you next year.
Date of review: August 23, 2010

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

In short: Well Done Virgin
In full: Good first effort by Virgin - operating on the 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' principle, most things seemed to be unchanged.

Personal disaster for me due to achilles problem at 7m, but walked the remainder which allowed me to take in more of the atmosphere than normal (this was my 5th). The support from the crowd, marshalls (and St Johns !) really is extraordinary.

Appeared busier this year although start was probably a bit better than usual (from blue/pen 4 anyway) although there was no policing of the pens so it was a free for all.

Liked the smaller flip-top water bottles - could be easily carried, must have reduced wastage. Good tee-shirt (much better than usual imitation technical top) and nice medal.

Thanks and well done to all the volunteers, entertainers, fellow runners (walkers !) and supporters on the day - brilliant job as usual.
Date of review: April 27, 2010

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

In short: Oooooh, that's going to hurt............
In full: Second time for me, woefully undertrained this time and running with a bad knee but didn't want to miss it and was prepared to walk if necessary (whoch was lucky as I did - a lot).

It is funny what this event does to you - I swear at the bottom of one of the 'b*tches' I was definitely thinking never again, but this race is number one in my calendar this morning.

Yesterday was hellish - very muddy and slippery for much of first half, and wet and windy for the second half, with very limited visibility at times. As always, though, the combination of the sheer challenge (don't ever underestimate how tough this race is, partularly the last 6 miles or so which are brutal), the faultless organisation and enduring cheerfulness of the marshalls at every stage (even after several hours in desperately poor weather) makes this a must-do. Sincere thanks to all involved in another fabulous event.
Date of review: October 25, 2009

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

In short: Fabulous route, great organisation, hard as hell !
In full: Thanks to all at 2.09 - this is a well organised, fabulous event along some of the best routes in the South.

Good stuff :
-scenic route
-well organised throughout and marshalled
-lovely finish area with commentary
-well marked route
-very sociable event
-sufficient feeding stations
-good shirt, medal and goody bag

Bad stuff:
-it's hard ! A seriously hilly course and uneven underfoot makes for a real challenge

Date of review: June 14, 2009

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

In short: Glitches need attentiion
In full: I was really positive apporoaching this race - had a PB on this course last year, and communications from the organisers indicated previous problems had been addressed (rubbish expo, families in the pens etc). Unfortunately, a there were a couple of issues :

-insufficient water. I sympathise with the organisers that the conditions were unusual (and blew my chance of a decent time), but they were forecast very early in the week so there should have been a contigency. Strathmore are one of the sponsors for goodness sake, surely more could have been obtained ? Also, the gaps between stations were too great (for me at least given the conditions)

-leaving the racecourse was a bottleneck due to the vast crowds waiting outside. The reunion arrangements need rethinking - can't think many runners enjoyed several minutes queuing in the sun to get out

-woefully inadequate loos at the start

That said, there are positives :

-last years issues resolved
-great medal and T shirt
-great marshalls and local support (better than last year, no doubt due to weather)
-shuttle buses seemed to work well
-I like the relay runners being part of it
-The course is great

Sort out the loos and be prepared for a range of weather conditions please Edinburgh - you've got a potentially great event here
Date of review: June 3, 2009

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