My Event Ratings

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

In short: A really nice marathon, good challenging course well organised with friendly marshals and of course extra special as I had witnessed Traviss and Vanessa reaching fantastic milestones in their marathon running careers - well done to both of you!
In full: Following two days of the amazing Bournemouth Air Festival it was back to marathon running business and I was extremely fortunate to get a last minute entry in the Kent Coastal Marathon from Sharon Foster of the Thanet Roadrunners AC, despite the entries having closed - cheers Sharon. I really wanted to run this one as I had found out only last week that it was going to be Traviss Willcox's 200th marathon and I really wanted to be at the finish to see him cross the line (assuming of course I finished before him - not guaranteed the way I've been running recently) and join in the celebrations - If you would like to read more then check out my full blog here at http://60in60at60.com/2012/09/03/m35-kent-coastal/
Date of review: September 5, 2012

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

In short: The Salisbury 5-4-3-2-1 has over the last few years become a regular favourite on the walk run calendar as it caters for nearly everyone who loves walking or running along footpaths, bridle-ways and quiet country roads in the Salisbury, Wessex area.
In full: Desperate situations leads to desperate measures and last Sunday morning I was about to break probably the No.1 golden rule of marathon running (this is a don't try this at home moment) running in brand new running shoes. After my very poor performances in my last few marathons - with my foot issues and legs seizing up problems, I was about to gamble on what I hoped would, if not cure the problems at least help to minimise them. During the Around the Reservoir Marathon a couple of weeks ago I noticed that multi-world record marathon runner Traviss Willcox was running in a pair of weird looking running shoes, they had extra thick soles, were very wide and looked like they weighed a ton. - If you would like to read more then check out my full blog here at http://60in60at60.com/2012/08/13/m32-salisbury-5-4-3-2-1/
Date of review: August 15, 2012

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

In short: A great marathon and although just on the outskirts of Northampton it really is a lovely area to run in. If you want to try a double then this would be ideal as it's 8 laps and plenty of support. Well done Dave and Linda of Madeyarun.
In full: I'm now 2 weeks behind schedule and in an attempt to catch up I thought I would try another double marathon weekend. I did one at the beginning of the year in Liverpool and in-fact ran the Enigma Quadzilla back in February - 4 marathons in 4 days, so I knew I was capable of running consecutive marathons. Being a subscriber of Madeyarun an on-line marathon events business run by husband and wife team Dave and Linda Major, I noticed that they were organising an Around the Reservoir Double Marathon in Northampton - If you would like to read more then check out my full blog here at http://is.gd/krPsVB
Date of review: August 2, 2012

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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		100%

In short: WOW! WOW! and triple WOW! what a fantastic weekend of fund-raising for my charities and publicity for my challenge.
In full: The inaugural "Littledown Marathon on the 17th June 2012 at the Littledown Centre, Bournemouth, was a fantastic success for the Race Director Ade Holloway of Run Yer Socks Off and the Littledown Harriers that supported the event. The marathon was in support of my (Barry Light's) 60in60at60 Marathon Challenge and was a major fund-raising event for my charities. Everything about the day was spot on and to cap it all it was great to meet Martin and Liz Yelling and little Ruby - If you would like to read more then check out my full blog here at at http://is.gd/b1Pa7g
Date of review: June 21, 2012

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

In short: A FAB marathon in one of my favourite parts of the country the South Downs, The "South Downs Marathon" organised by the winner of the 1983 London Marathon (I saw it on TV) Mike Gratton and his 2:09 Events Company.
In full: A great event and well organised - 10 out of 10. I ran this event in 2010 and was really pleased with my time of 4.14 especially as it was only a week after running my first ultra marathon, the 32 mile Dartmoor Discovery. This year things didn't go very well - If you would like to read more check out my full blog here at http://60in60at60.com/2012/06/09/m25-south-downs/
Date of review: June 11, 2012

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

In short: The "Rhondda Rollercoaster"? To coin a well known phrase "It does exactly was it says on the tin."
In full: This marathon is in, on and around the Rhondda Valleys of South Wales and it's a real Rollercoaster, either up or down with not much in-between - think Beachy Head Marathon on Crack Cocaine! and it will give you an idea of what this event is like. Organised by the South Wales LDWA it's a fabulous event but don't even think about a PB unless this is your first marathon. If you would like to read more check out my full blog here at http://60in60at60.com/2012/05/13/m23-rhondda-rollercoaster/
Date of review: May 15, 2012

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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: A great local marathon for me and number 22 of my 60 Marathon Challenge. Also my 50th Marathon of all time.
In full: I agree with all the comments about this fabulous marathon, my first time running this event, great support, great marshals and a lovely undulating challenging course, really well organised by the Gillingham Trotters - I really liked the beer! at the end (well it’s supposed to have lots of B vitamins) and the shuttle bus back to the HQ - well done you Trotters! if you would like to read more check out my blog here at http://60in60at60.com/2012/05/02/m22-north-dorset-village/
Date of review: May 10, 2012

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

In short: No.21 of my 60in60at60 Challenge and on the whole I thought it was a great day...
In full: I've read lots of comments about bad organisation, no space blankets, rubbish goody bags, no t-shirt etc. and while that's all possibly true we shouldn't run marathons for all that stuff anyway. The biggest factor that made it difficult for Andy Hully and his team was the atrocious weather, but remember "there's no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing" and I saw lots of runners out there that weren't prepared for those conditions, and suffered because of it. Hindsight's a wonderful thing and yes you could say that they should have been better prepared for bad weather, but I'm sure lessons will be learnt and improvements made for next year - so give the guys a break. Marathon running is tough and I get annoyed by runners whinging all the time. We've all been spoilt over the years with marathons like London and expect every marathon to be the same - if you can't hack a bit of discomfort then stick to 10k's. if you want to read more after all that then check out my blog here http://60in60at60.com/2012/04/26/m21-milton-keynes/

Looking forward to North Dorset next week don't expect there will be any space blankets there either.
Date of review: May 2, 2012

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