My Event Ratings

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

In short: Great route, great supporters, great weather, great day
In full: This was my first half marathon as part of my training for VLM in April and even though I found it tough (I had a target of under 2hrs 10 which was a struggle for me) I really enjoyed it. The route is great, going through lovely parks and past some of Londons major landmarks was a great taste of things to come in April. The route is very flat and the first part is quite wide through the streets of London and the traffic is corned off. The second half in Hyde Park is quite twisty as it doubles back on itself several times and also quite narrow in places which made it harder to maintain a constant pace whilst trying to overtake slower runners in front. The twisty route could make it hard for your friends and family to follow you....if it weren't for the brilliant iphone app that allows them to ftrack you using your timing chip! How clever!! This allowed my boyfriend to weave around the course and see me at 4 different points which was great for morale! The value for money was pretty good, the medal was nice, free T-Shirt is a good fit and good quality (if I'm being picky the yellow shade is a bit gaudy but can't have it all!) and good drinks and snacks after (look out for the snack stands though, I almost missed these after exiting the finish funnels). The support on route was amazing, at times you were hit by a wall of noise which was just brilliant and very uplifting when I was flagging around mile 10. Overall a really great race that I will definitely do again if I can get a ballot place. One tip - arrive much earlier than you think is necessary - I was still standing in a huge queue for the toilet when the race started!
Date of review: October 11, 2012

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

In short: Nice scenery, great organisation shame they'd run out of goodies!
In full: I should start by saying I am very much a novice runner who is in training for the Royal Parks half followed by the London Marathon (I deferred my ballot place from last year). The longest run I'd done to date was a totally flat 10.62miles which was a huge struggle so it was touch and go whether I'd be able to complete this race but I thought the hills would be a good challenge and the distance fitted in well with my training plan. The field of runners seemed quite clubby and were few in number (only 123 finished) which was a shame as the route was pretty and the marshalls were excellent and in abundance. The route was fairly undulating but not as bad as expected (I found the Brighton Trailblazer 10k a lot worse but perhaps it was just earlier in my training and I wasn't as fit). There were some short steep sections and long gradual inclines but nothing too killer and the downhill sections through the woods were great fun dodging the mud! The marshalls and supporters on route were amazing, clapping and encouraging every runner who went past. A special thank you to the lady who handed me some much appreciated gummy bears as I was starting to flag at around 7.5 miles! I was really pleased to finish the race in 1hr41 although my new garmin showed it was slightly less than 10 miles. I was slightly disappointed that they appeared to have run out of finishing goodies (especially after reading the reviews from previous entrants saying how good they were!) so on finishing I just received an empty gym bag (although it did have a smart Lingfield DH10 logo on!). Not to worry, I'll have to run quicker next time so I don't miss out! For a £10 race I felt slightly put out at having to pay for the cakes but they were totally delicious and well worth the 50p charge!
Date of review: September 6, 2012

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

In short: Kiiller hillsHilly but scenery made up for it
Date of review: July 30, 2012

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