My Event Ratings

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

In short: Just keeps getting better. The 10k that's man's best friend.
In full: The friendliest and best-organised 10k in the country did it again today. An even better course than last year, as the organisers had removed the pavement section at the end and managed to keep the coast road open for the whole event. Superbly organised, very friendly, and a great t-shirt and goody bag. I for one will be back next year. Well done to the organisers.
Date of review: February 10, 2013

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

In short: You'd have to be barking not to love this one
In full: Super-friendly and well-organised, with views over the beach for around half the distance. Very flat, and apart from a small log-jam at the start, ideal for much quicker runners than me. Awesome, if slightly gaudy technical tee as well. An absolute credit to the organisers.
Date of review: February 12, 2012

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

In short: Wetter and better than ever
In full: This was my fourth time out at Hell Up North, and I can honestly say that it was the best yet. Parking and pre-race organisation was faultless, and we even got away on time this year. The organisers had responded to criticism of the distance being slightly short last year by adding a new loop after the first hill - which i wasn't a massive fan of - but which they made up for by picking an even better route through the forest, and making the bogs of doom even more splendid than usual. There was also a medal at the finish this year, not to mention a superb technical t-shirt, a pretty good goodie bag, and lots of different free drinks.
Best of all, Hellrunner always attracts a great crowd, from the bloke in the Mankini to the young fella carrying an ironing board and an iron (who I'm ashamed to say became the man I just had to beat). All in all, this is still my favourite race of the year, and if you haven't done it yet, you haven't lived.
Date of review: September 13, 2011

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

In short: As fabulous as ever - but why was it so short?
In full: Hell up North has been my favourite race for some years now, which is why I ran today despite having cracked ribs. So while in some ways, the shorter distance was welcome (my Garmin called it at 8.88 miles, rather than the usual 10.5) I still felt slightly cheated. And parking was an absolute shambles. However, it's still a wonderful race, which will draw me back next year, and the good spirit and friendliness of everyone I ran with today made this another great experience. But Puma, if you're going to keep expanding this awesome event, please get the logistics sorted; and also, please don't advertise it as an 11-miler when it's actually less than 9. But hey, I've still signed up for Hell in the Middle, 5 minutes after getting home, so please don't read this as a totally grouchy review. Hellrunner is still the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
Date of review: November 8, 2010

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		60%
Organisation		60%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		20%

In short: A total mud-fest with lots of killer hills. Superb race for the uber-fit, but if I do iy again, I'll probably opt for the challenge. Very, very tough.
Date of review: March 22, 2010

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

In short: Incredibly tough, but a great atmosphere.
In full: Wow. That was the toughest race I've ever taken part in. Makes Hellrunner seem like a walk in the park. Loads of steep uphills. Quite a few dangerous descents. All this plus the Coffin Trail, which I'm sure that only the elite ran up (I walked up it, and no-one passed me). Despite all this, it's a well-organised event and a really friendly atmosphere too. If I can find some hills to train on, I may well be back next year.
Date of review: April 19, 2009

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

In short: Muddy Hell! Wetter and better than ever.
In full: I've just got home from Hellrunner and haven't made it to the shower yet. So, I'm cold, wet, muddy, smelly and very, very happy. I thought that this was fun last year, on that balmy April day. But how much better is Hellrunner when it's been peeing down for weeks? Much, much, much better! OK, much, much harder too, as I have to say that I was absolutely all in at the end, and amazed absolutely no-one with my pace throughout. But this is still my favourite race, bar none. Organisation and atmosphere haven't slipped since Puma took over from Salomon, and it's also a great goody bag. Put me down for next year somebody...
Date of review: November 2, 2008

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

In short: Oh. My. And oh yes, that was it, God. My fave race ever. Awesome fun. Not your bog-standard race.
In full: This is a tricky one to review, because, yes, it gets pretty tough in places, and I was close to being 'all in' at the finish. But, and here's the strange thing: this was the funnest, most uplifting run I've ever had, despite my 2.12 time being frankly dreadful for a course that's roughly 11-12 miles. OK, so what did we get today? Well, a big, bad uphill from the start, followed by a bit of a queue to get into the downhill section back through the start again. After that, I think, we had a few hills, a fair bit of deceptively pleasant striding through Delamere Forest, some huge wades through stinky bogs (with a bit of queuing to take your turn), more forest, the 'hills of hell', the 'bogs of hell'. some stream-splashing, a 30 yard wade through chest-high bogs, and then one last killer hill before the blessed relief of the end. Met loads of nice people. Had a right laugh. Needed to have my son turn a bike jet-wash on me before I was allowed in my good lady wife's car to go home. Can't wait to do it again. This is a 'must-run' for everyone. So much more rewarding than bog-standard road-running.
Date of review: April 29, 2007

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

In short: Shambolic start. Needs much better marshalling.
In full: Having a red number, I expected a pretty clear run from the start. I was stood in the pen for nearly 2 hours before the gun too. But for some reason, when the gun went, and the marshals managed to untie the rope in front of the pen, there were already a couple of thousand people in front of me, as the marshals had been letting pretty much anyone into the yellow and white pen in front. This meant a really slow first couple of miles, by which time the green number runners had caught up and were battling through. Add to this the lack of pre- and post-race signposting, shambles of serve-yourself double decker buses for bags, rather than lorries, and lack of anywhere to change, not to mention the total gridlock, when even the Nirvana Travel coaches weren't allowed to go down the roads they expected to go down, and I felt that after 26 years it would be a lot better organised. I also thought that the three mile marker was misplaced. And look, I know the geordies are hard - after all, they don't even wear shirts to football matches in December. But only they could come up with an almost entirely uphill half marathon course. And don't wave a map that says there are lots of downhills, because I refuse to believe it. And above all, I absolutely insist that none of the above has anything at all to do with the massive PW I achieved yesterday. Honest.
Nice t-shirt though...
Date of review: October 2, 2006

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