My Event Ratings

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

In short: Bring back the old new course!
In full: The course this year was actually the old, old course. Why did they revert to it? Probably to remove the "hill" from being run twice. Big mistake. The start was atrocious, but after 1k or so it was fine. More helpers needed at the finish for the drinks. Definitely worth turning up, though.
Date of review: September 29, 2008

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

In short: Phew! What a scorcher!
In full: Far too hot, really, to be racing, especially on such a tough course. I stopped running at all the water stations and a couple of other places as well, figuring that I would finish some way off my PB (in the end 18 minutes off!). The race was pretty well organised apart from the start, which was a shambles, and the goody bag was perfectly respectable.
Date of review: July 29, 2008

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

In short: Superb, apart from the course!
In full: I'm slightly biased because I'm a member of the organising club, but this was a very good race, superbly organised and marshalled, with a great goody bag at the end. Unfortunately, in order to qualify for one, you had to run the race, which consists of a really tough course to the top of Leckhampton Hill, along a bit, and then back down again. Do you get that I don't much care for hills? Nearly 13 minutes slower than my 10k PB made me miserable, but the cheerful and friendly atmosphere more than made up for it. I'll do it again, but with a bit more specific training next year!
Date of review: July 21, 2008

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

In short: One of the best races ... ever!
In full: I reckon in my running career I must have run close to 500 races, but this is definitely a contender for the best race I've run. The organisation was superb, the marshalls helpful and friendly, the course interesting (if a few too many twists and turns and different terrains to make it a PB course) and the goody bag just the thing! (A jute carrier with a mug, a Granola bar and a banana). Very often first time races are a shambles and a joke - this race was proof that, if you put in the work, you can come away with a stupendous event. I will definitely be back next year!
Date of review: July 13, 2008

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

In short: A chance thrown away
In full: Clearly this race has outgrown itself. I don't quite understand the reasoning behind the change of course - I thought it was to avoid the cycle path at about 11 miles, but they replaced it with a totally inappropriate off-road section (hint - it's a ROAD race, not a multi-terrain), with a very narrow start funnel to a bottleneck gate. There were not enough loos at the start. The queue for the timing chips was ridiculous - why not send them out with the number? And if that's impossible, then put the signs showing the number ranges up high so that people know where to queue. As I was towards the "sharp end" I didn't have a problem with the water, though I had to fend for myself at the first water station. But I could see that there was nowhere near enough.

There needs to be a very serious debrief about this. Tewkesbury could be a fine race, but on the basis of yesterday there won't be much repeat business, unless someone from 2:09 comes forward
Date of review: May 12, 2008

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

In short: Tough but worth it
In full: One of my least favourite words is "lap", and this has three of them. It starts and finishes at a very chi-chi pub on Minchinhampton Common near Stroud, and the laps are pretty tough, with steep ascents and grinding ascents. There's a surprising amount of support (thanks Beaudesert School!) and a free beer for the first hundred finishers. I would highly recommend this race if my legs didn't hurt so much.
Date of review: May 8, 2008

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Overall score		100%
Would you do it again?		Maybe
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		60%
Value		60%
Beginner-friendliness		20%

In short: Almost as hard as a marathon
In full: Last year I was in training for London, and so I ran from home to the start (3 miles) and back again afterwards. This year, not in training, I could scarcely hobble the half mile back to the car at the end. This is a seriously tough race, run in glorious sunshine but very slippery underfoot, up and down (mainly up) some very demanding hills. As others have said, it's well worth it though - the free beer's delicious, and the cakes were wonderful.
Date of review: March 31, 2008

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

In short: More hills that a hilly place on Planet Hill
In full: The good things - the course, the marshalls, the finish, the scenery.

The bad things - the organisation (woeful directions to the start - we don't all have SatNav yet - thank God there was a 15 min delay), the start - much too congested for the first two miles, and the hill - how can any race have more uphill than down and yet start and finish at more or less the same place? I think we need Steven Hawking.
Date of review: March 17, 2008

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

In short: Windy!
In full: Not a PB course - well, not yesterday, anyway. Excellent running surface but laps are always a mental challenge for me. Good organisation but more people would have made it more enjoyable.
Date of review: March 10, 2008

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

In short: Okay, if you like that kind of thing
In full: They changed the course this year, which was a good thing, especially given the larger field. The start and finish were quite a way from the HQ which was a bit of a pain, but my main problem was too much Christmas! Oh, and the icy roads. You *could* get a PB here, but probably only if this was your only 10 mile race. I'll be back next year, but it's not going to get any easier.
Date of review: January 7, 2008

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