My Event Ratings

Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		80%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		60%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: Too tough....
In full: I hadn't expected the course to be this tough. Nobody did. Everyone I spoke to found it harder than expected. I had to drop out after 14 miles and getting on for four hours. The start of the course was very hilly. After a pleasant ramble across country, the course begins a long steady climb which was quite demanding, but I expected that at the top we'd be on the downs, and - apart from some ups and downs - that would be it. But no, the course then goes back down, and then up, and then steeply down, and then a long, long climb up loads of steps. I have done the North Downs Run, Beachy Head Marathon and the Dunstable Challenge, so am quite OK with hills and cross country running. I enjoyed those three races - but the very steep and relentless nature of the start of this took too much out of me. I wanted to do a 20 mile run, but the first three miles consisted of fairly consistent steep hills that I couldn't run, so I was starting to get frustrated. When the course did eventually "level out" (read: hilly, but manageable), I started to enjoy myself, and was considering that if I did this next year I would skip the start. But then the mud and the stones started to make the going heavy, the temperature dropped and the wind got up, so I was getting more and more tired, and colder and colder. A series of very demanding styles then starting to take their toll, and when I worked out that I still had about six miles to go, and I had taken nearly 4 hours, and I was very weak, with an aching knee that was slowing me down, I spoke with a marshal about a short cut to the finish, and he advised me getting a lift back, so I agreed and gave up. This is the first race I have abandoned. The lift came quickly and they checked me out on the spot and again back at HQ.

There is much to commend in this race. And you can feel save that you are looked after - your number is taken by every marshal, so they know exactly where you will be if you go missing. But be aware that it will be tough if you go for the full distance, and that March can be very, very cold.
Date of review: March 8, 2011

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

In short: Hello church. Hello church. Hello church...
In full: Overall this is a decent enough race. No frills, no extras - no goodie bag or fruit or bottled water or t-shirt, and a very cheap medal - but it does the job.

The school building provides decent facilities with changing rooms, a little cafe, and tables and chairs to sit around and chat in the warm before the race.

There's a good mix of runners of all abilities, and a warm, relaxed atmosphere, with people happy to chat, or offer a word of support when passing or being passed.

The scenery is OK - it's not exciting or beautiful, but it's not ugly. It's the pleasant suburban streets of Sidcup on a lazy Sunday morning, and it passes quietly by. The laps are big enough to not be monotonous, though there are few landmarks to look forward to. The highlight is the church and a few shops clustered around a closed cinema. You get to look forward to that....

The marshals are solid, friendly and supportive - giving encouragement to runners, and keeping control of the traffic with few incidents. There was a hot-headed youngster in some cheap small car near the start who got impatient and was revving and then drove madly and dangerously on the wrong side of the road to overtake the runners, and pulled in to the crowd of runners with a lack of care that could have resulted in injuries or deaths. The marshal near that incident was told off by another marshal for allowing the idiot to keep on driving, but there was nothing he could do, and marshals are not empowered to stop cars. But that incident did reveal that the organisers should rethink allowing runners to use the road at the start. If they want to use the road they should get the police to block off the road for the first 10 minutes. I accept this might increase the cost, but runners do get hit by cars, and it's best avoided if possible.

There were useful and fairly accurate markers along the route, though the mile 2 marker was too soon.

The route is not completely flat. It does incline in places, and has a couple of slopes. The Thames Towpath Ten is flatter. However, it was flat enough for me to get a PB of 1.35.48, so I'm pleased.
Date of review: February 13, 2011

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Overall score		40%
Would you do it again?		Maybe
Details:
Scenery		40%
PB potential		80%
Atmosphere		40%
Organisation		20%
Value		40%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Four laps of a municipal park
In full: £10 was rather expensive for what they offered. And while it might have made some economic sense to give out the left over t-shirts advertising last year's runs, it created a very poor impression.

Losing the medals was also a poor do. And then when they found them, it was a generic company medal, with no date on it.

I wasn't impressed. There wasn't the pride of local club do, or the normal charm of a low key local event, or the feel good factor of a charity event, or the excitement of a big run. This was the sort of run you do yourself each week for training. Well, to be honest, I select better routes than this - I wouldn't normally chose to run four laps around a dull playing field.

However, as my running partner said in the pub afterwards. We did enjoy it. It fitted in with our running schedule, and if there's nothing else around on this date next year, we might well do it again.


Date of review: January 16, 2011

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

In short: Winter Wonderland!
In full: It's a low key, local event with a good mix of runners, and quite a few slow ones, so a nice, relaxed, amateur atmosphere. Running alongside the Serpentine on New Years Day is great fun, though the course also goes through boring parks of the park, and does do a dull loop, but the main fun is that it starts and finishes right next to Winter Wonderland! Having a mug as a souvenir is a nice touch. Definitely do it next year!
Date of review: January 2, 2011

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

In short: Potential to be better
In full: Poor organisation at start and finish. Traffic problems. Wet, cold, miserable conditions. Less crowd support than expected, held this back from being a special race, though I did enjoy it and will do it again. I liked the noisy supporter at around the two mile mark who then turned up at around the file mile mark.

I like the course. I like big events. And this is London, and it's local for me, so I'd be keen to do this again.
Date of review: October 1, 2010

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

In short: I love it!
In full: I like big running events, especially London ones, and there are not that many so this is a welcome addition to the calendar. The route covers some interesting ground, including Greenwich Park, Royal Artillery Barracks and the Royal Arsenal, and quite a chunk of London is blocked off for most of the day, so the entry fee is good value, especially when even an event doing laps in the local municipal park costs £15 these days. Energy drinks and packs are given out, though as sometimes happens in running events, these ran out so the tail enders got nothing. This has occurred even in IAAF Gold Label events, so is not unusual - I think it may be because some runners take more than one drink or energy pack.

I ran this in 2008 when it was wet and cold and there was hardly any crowd support. It was much better this time. There was decent support for most of the course, and at times it was really uplifting, with crowds screaming and cheering. The end was particularly good - a real wall of noise.

The organisation at the start/finish was much better than in 2008, and it is encouraging that the organisers are making improvements, but could be improved further. Clear and obvious signage to direct people along a single route to the pens, and at the end to the exit, would be really helpful. The idea that tired and confused people wandering aimlessly in a crowd would be able to sort out their own goodie bags was a mistake, and the organisers should take responsibility for assembling the contents themselves, and ensuring that every competitor gets a bag (and only one bag! Some races put a line through your number when you've been given your bag). I think part of the goodie bag problem was that the start was delayed, so some people starting handing out foil blankets and cereal bars at the start in order to keep those waiting warm and happy.

I take part in this because I like big events in big cities, and I like the course (both for the location, and that it goes up and then down - a profile that suits me), so I'm not fussed about the music, but it does seem ironic that an event that is promoted as a music and running event has fewer live bands than at a number of half marathons and marathons I've done.

Overall I really enjoyed this and will be back. And I expect that it will be better organised next year. Yes, it's not perfect, but the majority of running events are not.
Date of review: October 1, 2010

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

In short: Love it
In full: This is the second time I've done it. Great atmosphere. Feels special to run through the centre of London. Running across Westminster Bridge makes the whole experience worth while. Good DJ spots to give encouragement. It's a fun race rather than a serious race. There are lots of small, cheap, local 10K races taking place every weekend, and those are great for club runners, and for getting a PB. This is a big, once a year fun run through the centre of London. Take it for what it is and you won't be surprised or disappointed.
Date of review: August 29, 2010

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Overall score		60%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		60%
Value		100%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Varied
In full: Overall I enjoyed the run, though wouldn't do it again. There's a chance of some good views along the Pilgrims Way, and much of the course is through pleasant trails. Having said that, to be fair, all cross-country runs I have done have offered the same quality views or better, but didn't take you through some rather awful fly-tipping sites. There is clearly a severe problem in this area, and it made for some quite unpleasant sections toward the end. Added to that the course leads through trials used by off-roaders, so the ground is cut up and scarred - in places it was was like running through a war zone. I was stunned at the sort of damage the off-road vehicles can do.
The race length is just short of nine miles, which is OK once you know that, but if you don't, and think it's just over 7 miles, then it can be disheartening to reach the halfway water station so far down on time. Thankfully the marshal there told me the truth, so I could relax.
The marshals were very good, and there is a very friendly, relaxed atmosphere. The Mars Bar in the goodie bag is very enjoyable. And it's handy having a Sweat Shop stall at race HQ.

My favourite cross-country run near Medway is the North Downs run, and this run, though pleasant, doesn't match up to that.
Date of review: August 29, 2010

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

In short: Awesome!
In full: This is a stunning run. Great countryside, and solid, warming, reassuring organisation. It is, however, a challenge, and I made mistakes. I ran too fast at the start in a vain attempt to keep up with the others so I wouldn't get lost too soon. That left me very tired for the finish, and I came in nearly an hour slower than I could have done if I'd paced myself. The course is very challenging in places - not just the hills, but the rough ground underfoot: freshly (and deeply) ploughed fields, uneven and loose surfaces, tree roots, flints, assorted muddy patches. Add all that to a bit of map reading, the inevitable getting lost here and there, and a fairly fast field so that I was all alone for the last half, made me, um, "uncomfortable" by the finish so I did swear a bit and mutter "never again" as I fell over the finish line. However, by the time I write this, just over a week later, my legs have stopped aching, and I managed a half marathon on Sunday in world record time (well, my personal world record), so I am warming to the event and thinking back fondly to it. I have a running partner who seems keen on doing this, so if he does enter I will be assured of company, and will be able to better pace myself. So - I am seriously considering doing this again. Maybe....
Date of review: October 7, 2008

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Overall score		60%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		80%
PB potential		80%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		40%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Attractive flat course - appalling organisation!
In full: I enjoyed the run - it's an attractive course, and very flat. And it has something of the buzz of a big race. But there are too many problems, mainly to do with the organisation by Swansea council.

In my experience the best organised races tend to be those done by runners for runners, because there is a passion and commitment, and an understanding of what a runner wants from a race.

I had heard great things about this 10K, so it was on my "must do" list, and I came from Kent to take part. I have family in Swansea so it was a great opportunity to mix a family get together with a bit of running.

The first sign that things were not right were when my race pack didn't arrive and I had to make a couple of phone calls to sort it out. Fair enough, but it appears I wasn't the only one not to get their pack.

I shrugged that off as one of those things that can happen. I'm still very positive - no reason not to be. We arrive at the race and notice huge queues for the toilets. My wife comments on this, and me, being positive and still believing this is the best 10K in the UK, shrugs it off as something that happens at big races, though it niggles me a bit as the queues really are very long and I would like to make sure my bladder is empty.

I get into the starting pens. No organisation to sort people into the right times - just a few signs. OK - this part is often poor at races, but the best organised runs I've attended do make more of an effort to get this right.

There's a really poorly done warm up routine. No music, no motivation, no enthusiasm, just a buzzing tannoy. People start doing it and gradually everyone loses interest. Dreadful! What a demotivating start to a race.

At last we set off. We start off with the whole width of the road. This is a popular run, so even with the full width (four lanes) people get in the way. Those who started too far forward are holding up those behind. I'm OK with this - it's the downside of taking part in a big event, and I'm prepared to accept that. But then, as we pass the university the four cones are coned off in a very short distance into two lanes. Ouch! Much bumping and barging and slowing down. Many runners go the wrong side of the cones in order to get past the slower runners. The problem with this, is that cars are now coming along the other way! OK - these things happen.

I'm accepting of all this, but I am starting to feel this is not the well organised race I had been expecting. Where are the nice touches - the music, the little treats, the extra water stops with jelly babies? What we get is the required minimum water station at 5K. OK - fair enough. And then I get to that water station and find that the marshalls there cannot cope with the flow of people, and are trying to open boxes as fast as they can, but are failing. That concerns me, but I manage to get a bottle and again push that concern to the back of my mind and enjoy the rest of the race.

We get to the end, and enter one of the longest filter tunnels I have yet encountered and then everything just falls apart. Who organised the handing out of the goodie bags? Appalling! I had family to meet and so decided after standing still for 10 minutes that I would give up on the bag and get to my family. I moved to the side and walked past a huge queue, only to find that the area where the bags were being given out was quite free of people. So I got my bag and met up with my family.

I enjoyed the race. I had a great day. But this is far from the best 10K in the UK. Far, far from it. All the little niggles came together at the end and amount to some really poor organisation that needs addressing.

This race could do with a race director who has an interest in running and in making the experience pleasurable for everyone.

I don't write letters of complaint, but feel I may do so on this occasion because people deserve better than the mess at the end of this race.
Date of review: September 21, 2008

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