My Event Ratings

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

In short: Enjoyable event well organized on the day - any shortcomings were minor
In full: Seems to be regarded as a bit of a novelty race - not too many "serious" runners, and my (very) modest time was still good enough for a top 50 finish.
Point-to-point course (obviously) - this time the wind was behind over the last 3.5K on the prom from Seacombe - so it felt quite pleasant - this time.
Not really enough portaloos - need at least twice as many.
Excellent start location - wide roads, so no congestion even though some very slow runners were up at the front line.
Managed to spot all the km markers, though some were easier to see than others (4K, 6K weren't easy).
Very helpful assistants post-race - baggage reclaim thrust my bag into my hands even before I'd arrived at the desk; the bloke handing out the goody bags picked up my medal for me which I'd dropped.
Medal with tacky Merseytravel logo and the original race date on it - about the only thing which I'd complain (mildly) about.
Looking forward to running this next year when fully fit!
Date of review: September 12, 2006

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

In short: Nice part of the world to visit, well organised, course flat but a bit dull
Date of review: January 11, 2005

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

In short: Admire the scenery, battle against the wind
In full: Course is still short - whatever the organisers might tell me! Either that or I ran a huge 5K PB first half of the race. That's the only minor grouse though.
Well marshalled and organised - allegedly 200 max - but was easily able to accommodate a flood of late entries (even though they were too late for T shirts).
Really, this event deserves a less lowly status than that of "fun run". On a clear day, stunning scenery to look at going in either direction.
Strictly speaking, it's a multi-terrain run - and the going is a bit tricky between 5K and 6K, when you turn back and come along the other side of the coastal embankment wall.
If the prevailing wind blows with any strength at all, the second half is hard work back into it.
Nice friendly atmosphere, decent changing facilities, plenty of refereshments available afterwards. And all in a great cause.
Date of review: December 23, 2004

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

In short: Just hang on for that two-mile downhill at the end!
In full: Desrvedly popular event. This year it was started 200m further back! - but on a road wide enough that more ambitious runners were not too badly impeded in the first half mile or so.
Some ice on the course this year, which meant the odd unfortunate runner went flying.
Nice and flat up to just after the 7 mile marker. The next 4 miles are either uphill or undulating, and this is the part of the course that can find you out. Worst point psychologically is the stretch along the main road between about 10.2 and 11.2 miles which seems to go on for ever - the left turn into Towers Lane and the subsequent sharp descent can't come soon enough.
Date of review: December 23, 2004

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

In short: Beware the humps!
In full: Race is well organised. Starts (and finishes) on a narrow driveway adjacent to a sports field which means you need to make sure you're somewhere near the front. You also need to watch out for the sleeping policemen on the drive which can play hell with your stride length.
Results are processed promptly and efficiently.
Date of review: December 23, 2004

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

In short: Suffers from being over-subscribed relative to the width of road it starts on
In full: This is a 10K I've done frequently in the last 8-9 years and enjoyed. Trouble is, the organisers have never really solved the problem of finding somewhere suitable to start it from. This year's start in a lane just outside the field where we parked was particularly chaotic - woe betide the ambitious runner who found him/herself more than half a dozen rows from the front.
A great pity, because it's not a bad course - really fast and flat for the first half, then getting gradually more difficult second half as you first navigate your way up, over and beside the M56, then negotiate the hump bridge and the hill through Croughton at 8K, finishing with that lethal climb up from the Shropshire Union Canal at 9K.
Maybe restricting the race entry limit to something like 800-100 might help - but I also got the impression this year that Chester Zoo itself were less welcoming hosts than they had been in previous years. SO I fear it may not survive.
Date of review: December 23, 2004

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

In short: A pleasant, low-key autumn 10K
In full: There are a few little climbs - mainly up & over (or under) road & railway bridges - but even so, there's definite PB potential in this course. Finishing in the square outside the Village Hall gives it a definite "village" feel - along with the Fun Run.
Only one whinge - the queue for the loo!
Date of review: September 26, 2004

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Overall score		60%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		60%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		80%
Value		80%

In short: First half easy & fast; second half is where it gets hilly. Nice long downhill sprint to the finish. Woould probably be more scenic if it weren't held in the depths of winter
Date of review: August 24, 2004

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

In short: Crowded at the start - >1000 runners on a narrow country road. V flat and fast over first 5K; then the slopes start - beginning with the motorway bridges & finishing with a killer hill at 9K. Fun.
Date of review: August 24, 2004

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

In short: Course at the moment is about 300m short of 10K! Still only a fun run (fundraiser for nearby sensory soft play centre)- but organizers are considering making it a NoEAA registered event for 2004 (& lengthening course)
Date of review: August 24, 2004

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