My Event Ratings

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

In short: Picturesque scenery. Undulating!
In full: Always love running at Blenheim with its lakes and glorious scenery. Course started and finished on grass which is a bit hard going. Which ever way the course is set it will always be undulating. This route had one quite long uphill and a super downhill, with lots of other undulations thrown in too. My garmin measured the course at bang on 6 miles so quite a bit short of 10K. More or a fun run than a race with most folks wearing the CancerResearch cotton T-shirt with long trousers and an amazing quantity of ipods. Still great fun and a fantastic one for new runners to have a go.
Date of review: September 28, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: "Starts with a challenging Hill . . . " - and how!
In full: Yes, they described it correctly! It's a steep start and then it gets even steeper! Once you get over that bit everything evens out fairly well and the route does more gentle things. Bonus is that you get to run down the same hill at the end which gives you great energy for a sprint finish. Didn't spot any signs to the event when I arrived at 55 mins before start. Tricky entrance road with cars parked everywhere. I arrived early so wasn't too bad. Can't imaging what it was like later. Also, reams of red/white tape (5 lines of it) between car park and main event area. Need to be good at limbo. Great cakes, tea/coffee, bear tent & tombola.
Date of review: September 14, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great race. Windy as always on the airfield.
In full: Start out and back on the airfield which is always a bit testing with the u-turn coming back into the headwind. Not too strong a wind this year, but it will always be breezy as it's so exposed. Lovely jaunt around the country lanes. Back onto the airfield for another battle with the wind! Nice memento. Great cakes on sale. Loved the marshalls directing on the way in with the enormous pointy hands. Easy hard-surface parking.
Date of review: September 9, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Undulating/hilly, 2 laps. Shady route
In full: Just after the start there is a very short but very steep grassy bank which would slow most of us, but only briefly. Route is made up of tarmac lanes mostly shaded by tall trees which kept most of the sun off us. Some quite steep hills and some nice long downhills. Drinks every 3 miles. Marshals were fantastic and very encouraging, specially on the second loop! More or less twice round the same route, I was lapped by the winners just before my second time round. Second loop was the killer. Really sapped the energy as it was such a hot day. Last mile mainly uphill and then one of those grassy circuits of the field before the finish. Great tea & cakes on sale. Use of the school pool which was perect temperature and very refreshing. Great race!
Date of review: August 24, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Love the mug!
In full: Seemed slightly tougher on the day than I had expected. Not sure why as it was described well. The smell of bacon on arrival was lovely, though slightly cruel;) Great selection of cold filled rolls as well as sausages (bacon had run out!) and also fantastic cakes. Great marshalling - all very friendly and helpful. I suspect most were runners! Nice stylish mug which I have used for every cup of tea since!
Date of review: August 17, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great race with fantastic variety of scenes and surfaces
In full: Love this race! Road, woodland trail, fields, tracks. Great scenery. Cakes and teas available throughout. Predicted rain may have put a few off but it was negligable on the day. Plenty of space to shelter before and after. Plenty of water stations too.
Date of review: July 31, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great race. Flatish. Lovely crowd support through town & villages then 3 miles back along Phoeniix Trail (tarmac railway line)
In full: Such a hot day. Well done to the medics who had their work cut out. Great marshalls offering lots of support. Out through Thame town, into Towersey, back 3 miles along the Phoenix Trail. Small undulations on the Trail which wouldn't normally be much of an issue. In the heat, they were draining! Last 200 metres included gentle but challenging incline which is actually much shorter than in previous years. Really needed at least one more water station (only one provided at 5K and they were only half full cups). I actually got a small t-shirt which is unheard of when you come in towards the back of the field - thank you!
Date of review: June 29, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Fantastic
In full: Shade and gentle breeze kept the temp feeling reasonable. Hottest bit was queuing to go down the 12 steps and over the stile. That took 6 minutes and no shade. Could have done with an extra water station as hanging on til over half way was not great in view of the 24 degrees. Kissing gates added interest but this is not a pb course. Use of the Manor loos is great but just not enough to cope with demand. All in all, a great race, lovely place to start/finish and plenty of entertainement for little people and loads of food.
Date of review: May 31, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Very well organised flat, incredibly scenic race
In full: Coach to start was great. Loads of water stations every one of which was vital in soaring heat. Last station needed resiting in shade and a perhaps a bit more supervision to ensure fair play - one lad doing his best. Great route with a mixture of surfaces to challenge. Huge range of abilities which was good considering the (relatively) small field. Lady with the hose shower was a lovely surprise. Loads of food avail at the finish. Even with the heat I thoroughly enjoyed it - perhaps as I'm not very fast and walking little bits was the norm for me.
Date of review: July 29, 2008

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Great event.
In full: Fantastic evening though the air was so very heavy. Thunder, lightening, a bit of drizzle. Lots of water provided. Nice shady bits. Magnificent, awe-inspiring building. Stood and looked up at the silhouette for ages after the run. Great contact with organisers through RW thread.
Date of review: July 25, 2006

Report this rating to the moderator