Latest Ratings
| 11 to 20 of 24 ratings | Page: 1 2 3 |
2010 Sarsen Trail & Neolithic Marathon
 | | 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: Mud mud glorious mud!
In full: Great run, very well marshalled and organised. Ideal first trail marathon as plenty of water stations, well sign posted and no chance of losing your way! Being near the back of the field we were glad to have the company of the walkers and appreciated the very enthusiastic welcome back at Stonehenge. Pizza and cakes were delicious and much appreciated! Nice medal! Shame about the weather - nearly got blown away at the top of the first big hill - but all added to the challenge! Glad to be wearing trail shoes. Was rather hillier across Salisbury Plain than we anticipated but understand that was a last minute route change due to MOD operations. Would definately recommend and hope to be back for more!
Date of review: May 2, 2010
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2009 RNLI Reindeer Run 10K
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Great run in a great setting for a great cause
In full: Good fun, lovely atmosphere - very impressed the antlers stayed on - they were more robust than I thought! Course was muddy and slippy so not PB material but well supported and in a lovely setting. Hot drink and mince pie was very welcome at the end - thank you! Personally prefer a medal but the cute kit bag will not go to waste! Parking was easy and plenty of loos for the number of runners.
Date of review: November 30, 2009
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2009 Run Richmond Riverside 10K
| | 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 well organised park run for charity...
In full: We were lucky with the weather, at 8.30am it was belting down but fortunately by race time the sun was out, though the winds were still gusting pretty strongly!
The run was three assorted loops around Greenwich Park which was surprisingly hilly we discovered! Although the initial instructions seemed somewhat complicated as you had to navigate the same paths a number of times, in reality it was quite straightforward with marshalls pointing the right way whenever you could have gone astray.
Was all on paved paths so no real problem with the wet or mud.
Support was fairly limited, which was understandable given the weather though there was some very enthusiastic cheering from some groups!
Nice medal, even nicer goodie bag, decent razor with three tubes of grooming products, plus bananas, vitamin water, sweets and chocolates raisins at the end.
Was chip timed for the serious runners, and plentiful parking was very straightforward just a few dozen yards from the start... if I had one suggestion would be to reroute the loops so that there wasn't that energy sapping hill at about 9.7km!!
All in all hard to fault and for an excellent cause.
Date of review: November 14, 2009
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2009 Bexhill Seafront Half- Marathon
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Flat, fast four looped course... for a great cause!
In full: Did feel sorry for the kids race as it belted down, hadn't quite stopped by the time the main race started but wasn't as bad. Did rain a bit through the race but in fits and starts.
Course is very flat, four loops up and down the sea front essentially, just one very short (20m long) incline/decline) on each loop down to the beach level. Whilst looped courses aren't for everyone I quite enjoy them, loops 2 and 3 just seemed to fly by...
Just the one water station at the start/finish, which you passed on each loop, and if I had one minor suggestion for improvement would be to have the tables on both sides of the course so the fast runners can get them the same time as the slow ones... or have a second water station out on the course somewhere.
Marshalls were excellent, very encouraging and a special thank you to the announcer and a marshall who looked up our names on every lap and gave us a name check.
Roads were closed which adds to a fast time, there wasn't a whole lot of crowd support, but given the weather not surprising!
Very nice medal at the end, chip timing and best of all a whole table of cakes which were incredibly nice and very welcome. Big thank you to the cooks!
"Free" t-shirt for a donation to the Poppy Appeal... all in all excellent and deserving of more support, were about 450 runners or so which I think they announced was a record.
(To the chap who couldn't find any water at the end, when we finished (2.07) there was a table after the medals were handed out with water and bananas...)
Date of review: November 8, 2009
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2009 Barns Green Half Marathon
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Awful weather but well organised under the circumstances!
In full: Rain started maybe two hours before the start and was belting it down by the start and the first hour or so, nice and windy too, so that wasn't too much fun!
Given the circumstances it was a bit chaotic at first as the village hall was stuffed with people, many of whom I suspect were just trying to keep out of the rain. But everyone got sorted out in time and the race started promptly with minimal fuss.
There was a surprising amount of support on the course given the conditions and the marshalls/drinks station staff were superstars as it was miserable weather so a big thank you to them!
The weather did clear up a little which made things rather more pleasant.
Course was nice and undulating with no killer hills and the roads were all traffic free which made things much easier.
Very nice race all in all, wouldn't mind better weather though!
Perhaps a little expensive for what you get, a simple medal and bottle of water at the end, and the aid stations just had water. The runners world site indicated that there was a t-shirt included but appears this was an optional extra.
Date of review: November 1, 2009
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2009 Founders Challenge 26
| | 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: Best value race there is in glorious scenery...
In full: The LDWA events are very well run indeed and if you are a member and sign up in advance the fee is a mere £5 a person, even on the day for non members is just £9.
Basically you get given a route description which gives you a turn by turn set of instructions, lots of BL, TK, TR and BW but you soon get the hang of the navigation. (Though you always have to be very aware of going awry, at 23 miles the last thing you need is a wrong turn!) This is the key difference with these events versus a big marathon, you're navigating yourself round the course to a number of checkpoints along a whole variety of paths and trails and very, very little on roads.
The course was incredibly scenic, (which equates to hilly! 3000' of ascent), weather was perfect and the food laid on at the beginning, check points and end was fantastic! Rather too nice in fact as it made one want to hang out at the check points nibbling!
Very friendly atmosphere, organizers, marshalls and volunteers absolutely first class and can't speak too highly of these events.
Well worth a go if you want a change from pounding the streets and getting out in some glorious countryside!
Date of review: October 18, 2009
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2009 Petts Wood 10K
| | 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: Exceptionally well organised, run and supported.
In full: A model of how a race should be run.
Very clear and detailed instructions mailed well before the race with number and champion chip.
Parking was easy enough on the surrounding streets and everything clear and well laid out. Marshalls and guidance was excellent, very nice medal at the end with table fulls of bananas and water plus two water stations mid course.
Course was about half road and half through Petts Woods, couple of bottlenecks at several places would inhibit personal best times and the hills weren't too bad... ish.
Great all around, good morning out (and managed to resist the cakes!! Just...)
Date of review: October 11, 2009
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2009 Sittingbourne 10
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Well organised race through the rolling Kent countryside.
In full: Very well organised race, plenty of parking and good facilities including a mini "expo" type event with a couple of running gear sellers (picked up a couple of bargains!), massage, tea, coffee, ice creams and burgers etc.
Course was rolling shall we say, only one short sharp hill and then basically meandering upwards for the first six miles or so and then back down for the last four, two water points were well run and the plentiful marshalls all very encouraging and organised, no chances of getting lost!
Goody bag at the end with a t-shirt and a mars bar with more drinks and apples.
Very hard to fault anything really, personally would have preferred a medal than a t-shirt but that's just me!
Date of review: October 4, 2009
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2009 Folkestone Rotary Half-Marathon
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 100% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 100% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Excellent race, nice and flat (mostly!) and very well organized.
In full: Very well organised race starting on The Leas at Folkestone, wending down the cliff and then a long flat run to Hythe and back, all nice and flat aside from the killer "Road of Remembrance" at about mile 12 on the way back - but it's only about 300 yards long - so soon over with.
Marshalling was excellent, lots of encouragement and smiles, no chance to get lost and the mile markers spot on. Fair bit of support along the way and at the finish with a medal, bottle of water, banana and a nice goody bag to welcome you at the end.
4 water stations (plus at the end) was just about enough on a pretty warm morning and some lovely people were offering extra and impromptu hosepipe showers at about mile 11!
All in all first class, best organization of any race we've done so far.
Date of review: September 27, 2009
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2009 The Demelza Run: 10km
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 100% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Well organised, marshalled and supported race!
In full: Rolling parkland course in Maidstone's Mote Park, well organised, plenty of supportive marshall's, distance markers and signs to make sure nobody got lost, plenty of support on the course and especially the end and all for a good cause! Excellent all around.
Date of review: September 20, 2009
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