My Event Ratings

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

In short: It blew hard, it rained, but what do you expect - this is the Thanet 10!
In full: Cards face up, I am a member of TRAC the organisers, so you all know where I am coming from.

This race is held in December, on the windswept coast of Thanet, and most of those who run it know what to expect. It is a challenge when it is windy, but if you didn't like a challenge you wouldn't be running, would you? I enjoy this race BECAUSE of the weather, not in spite of it and I am pretty sure others do too. This course has great PB potential, especially if the wind does hold off.

Despite what the lady 2 or 3 reviews back stated Thanet IS a friendly club and you only need to trawl through past reviews to confirm that. So don't let one bad review put you off.
Date of review: December 9, 2009

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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: Gosh that was windy
In full: Great race, as always. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL MARSHALS. It was wet, it was windy, hey guys, you wouldn't want an easy life would you. Really enjoyed it, the wind behind you was really helpful, but in your face it was another story entirely. Thanks to everybody involved.
Date of review: November 1, 2009

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

In short: Great PB potential if you can manage the Hill
In full: Another warm one in Folkestone. The support for this run from marshals, spectators etc is great and very uplifting, thanks to all of you. I have just got to work out how to leave enough in the tank for THAT HILL.
Date of review: September 27, 2009

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

In short: An excellent challenging race
In full: this was my third time of running this and it really is a race of two halves. A few folk have commented on the smell, whuich is actually rotting seaweed, not sewage, which unfortunately tends to be unescapable at this time of year. Regarding water, if I am thirsty I take two cups, it ain't rocket science. You never can please all of the people all of the time, at the 5 mile station it was bottles and the guy in front of me shouted "what a waste".
Many thanks to all the marshalls and support from the crowd, much appreciated by us backmarkers.
Date of review: September 7, 2009

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Overall score		20%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		40%
PB potential		100%
Atmosphere		20%
Organisation		20%
Value		20%
Beginner-friendliness		100%

In short: The worst organised race I have ever run in
In full: Where do you want me to start.

"There will be three drinks station at 3.5 miles, at the halfway point and at 10.5 miles; however if the weather is particularly warm we may add an additional water stop." How does that fit in with the reality of first station at 4+ miles and only other station just under 10 miles. THe stations were badly undermanned, runners do not want to have to stop, I wasted a full minute at the first stop. Even if you are let down at the last minute there is NO EXCUSE for missing out the middle water station, redeploy people, but just get somebody out there.

Marshalls were virtually non-existent, I saw none between 4 and 9 miles and I doubt if there were more than a dozen out on the course.

I could turn this into a total tirade but I won't, but I will finish with one final observation. As there is no running club involved in this race, or any obvious charity connection, who actually benefits from the proceeds of this race?




Date of review: March 8, 2009

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

In short: Wet , windy and challenging
In full: Many thanks to all the marshalls for their hard work and support in poor conditions. This was my third running of this race and by far the worst conditions.
Date of review: January 26, 2009

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

In short: Nice and flat apart from THAT hill
In full: A good race, well organised and well marshalled. Weather was warm which wasn't ideal but overall enjoyed the race up until the 12 mile mark. I wasn't going to do a PB by then anyway, but that hill made doubly sure. The only small criticism I have is that the water stations could have been slightly better spaced with the first one being around 3 miles rather than nearly four.
Date of review: September 28, 2008

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

In short: Hot Ho Hot
In full: Today's race was run in temperatures nudging 30C and it took its toll, on me at any rate. Thanks to the marshalls for great organisation and having the foresight to put in a 3rd water station, much appreciated. The long gradual uphill betwen 2km and 4km was a killer for me and that, and only that, might give me second thoughts about doing this next year.
Date of review: July 27, 2008

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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: Very fast, well organised
In full: Well organised, lots of water stations and sponges especially welcomed. Its a pity that the instruction "run on the right along the seafront" was completely messed up at the turnaround when the natural inclination for right handed people (90% of us) was to run round the waterstation in a clockwise fashion, forcing everybody to cross over. A few cones on the approaches to the table would have prevented the confusion, but a minor gripe really, as I didn't see runners tripping over each other, we all survived.
Date of review: June 8, 2008

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

In short: I love this race
In full: This was the first race I ever did 2 years ago and being as tough as it is has made most other Half Marathons a piece of cake by comparison. I know there are tougher ones around but not too many. My advice to novices is to walk hill ten, it works for me.
Date of review: May 25, 2008

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