My Event Ratings

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

In short: A must do race
In full: Things this good don't happen by accident. Huge well done to the organisers, marshals and everyone else involved in putting this race on.

Put it on your list of must do races.
Date of review: December 10, 2012

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Congratulations due for well planned inaugural race
In full: It had the feel of a "big race" with a town centre start and finish and closed roads. (The route to the finish was very good IMO.) Definitely has potential to be a much bigger race. I liked the course even though it was quite tough. Well done on your first go at this.

Possible improvements. Although there were plenty of marshalls they often didn't give directions until asked. Drinks at the finish are a must really and a lot of goody bags didn't have any in them and there was no water station. If the race did get bigger the path over St Mary's Way would become a big bottleneck. Lastly the finish line is not visible until you are nearly at it - maybe it could be moved back a little?

Not related to the race as such, but the course uses some of the same route at the Stockport 10. I heard that some residents were a little irate that they could not get their cars out, and this could be become an issue when the Stockport 10 is run in December.

Overall a good first race.
Date of review: September 23, 2012

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: A must do race!
In full: Most things are spot on. Nice course (but with some hills mind), good support, well organised, immediate results.

Have to agree about the plastic cups. They are impractical unless you want to stop, but Energy drinks is a bit OTT.
Date of review: March 26, 2012

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great race, great marshals, great value
In full: First time running this race for a few years, and it is getting better. Well done to Stockport Harriers for putting on a brilliant event!

Where else can you go to a race and be greeted by Tony “Motty” Audenshaw giving a commentary ranging for the sublime to the ridiculous (mainly the latter) to put a smile on your face.

Great to start and finish on the track, and great encouragement from the marshals who must have been soaked to the skin and freezing cold, but still retained good humour and also some initiative to replace the stolen drinking water station (would you believe it) with an impromptu arrangement requiring frequent visits to the nearby kennels to keep the water topped up.

As for the race itself, a challenging course taking in parks, road, off-road and hills and a good mix of top quality runners and fun runners made for a top atmosphere.

Loved the long sleeved fluorescent tech-running shirt and the design, which was worth the entry money alone.

Finish off with hot showers, tea, coffee, chilli and hot-pot and a generous set of winners prizes and it’s the perfect way to spend a Sunday morning.
Date of review: December 12, 2011

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Curate's Egg
In full: Nice start and finish at the Lowry centre, the rest is mainly straight and flat roads around Trafford. Has PB potential if you can keep your concentration on long stretches of mainly featureless roads.

Some more marshalls on the approach to Old Trafford would have helped as I and the rest of the chasing group went the wrong way.
Date of review: September 28, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great run, good course, well organised
In full: Only thing I could fault was my own eagerness and starting off to fast for my first marathon, paid for it in the last 4 miles. Beautiful weather, well organised, plenty of drinks, traffic free roads.

Can't understand those people complaining about the course being dull and other trivia - this was the Blackpool marathon so surely you knew what to expect?

These races are getting harder and harder to organise and deserve our support before they are all gone. This was the last Blackpool marathon according to the organisers.
Date of review: April 6, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great new race - and for a great cause
In full: I hope this race raised lots of money for Soto's charity.

Really enjoyed this race. Great organisation and with potential to be fast without the wind (althogh the sea front location makes wind very likely).

Best t-shirt I can remember and I even won £50 sweatshop vouchers. Glad to hear that the event is taking place next year and I'm sure there will be many more entries when word spreads.

Well done everyone.
Date of review: June 29, 2008

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: With 30,000 runners you know what to expect
In full: This is a nice race worth doing for the atmosphere, but if you're a runner with a quick time in mind then forget it, or get RIGHT at the front.

A few people have complained about the wave starts/congestion but with a race this size this is inevitable. I started near the front of the orange wave (reserved for the faster runners) but there were people jogging and walking within the first km, including a couple dressed as cartoon characters. There is nothing the organisers can do about this; it's up to the common sense and honesty of the runners.

Just enjoy it for what is is!
Date of review: May 18, 2008

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Fast race in nice village setting
In full: I agree with the +ve comments about this race. I PB'd by 12 seconds and didn't have any problems with the organisation, marshalling etc. It's unfortunate that one reviewer had a bad experience, presumably prompted by a lost entry, but these things happen and it's not the fault of the organisers if things get lost in the post. Surely the thing to do was contact the race organisers via their website or RW, where the contact e-mail is listed, before turning up.
Date of review: May 12, 2008

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Nice race
In full: Good points: Great course, brilliant support, well organised, traffic free, goody bag.

Could be better: No bag storage, pretencious literature, congested start (and I was close to the front), quite expensive, can't drink out of plastic cups whilst running. And finally chip timing but presume this has been looked at already and discounted. (What did everyone complain about 10 years ago when this wasn't generally available?)

Overall, very enjoyable race.
Date of review: April 2, 2008

Report this rating to the moderator