My Event Ratings

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

In short: Horrendous conditions. Great support from volunteers. Dangerously poor organisation at start and finish.
In full: I feel that I am just repeating what others have said, but here goes anyway...
At the start there was little or no signage as to where to go for the baggage drop or the start. The fawning over Ron Hill at the start was irritating and ill-judged as the runners were wet and getting colder on the start line. Respect to Darren Campbell for sensing this and keeping his spiel brief.
The support from locals was amazing - I'm sure that I wouldn't have relished standing out in the rain and cold for hours. The drink stations were also well-manned, though I agree with a previous comment that they should have been signposted in advance with some information about what would be available.
I found the "trail" section a little strange, but it didn't bother me too much. By the time I'd reached the subway I was out of it and moving so slowly that stairs didn't make much difference!
The finish, however, was dangerously unorganised. There didn't seem to be anyone there to help runners - many of whom, myself included, who were suffering from hypothermia. The baggage fiasco sounds appalling - fortunately my wife had my stuff. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had had to spend an hour finding my bag.
My overriding impression of this event is that all the good points were down to volunteers and local people and the bad points (apart from the weather) were down to cutting corners on the part of the company who put it on. I'm always wary of entering events organised by private companies (rather than running clubs) and yesterday's experience does nothing to change that.
The conditions were awful (but predicted from early in the week.)
Date of review: April 30, 2012

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

In short: Well-organised with a good mix of road and towpath.
In full: Very well organised with plenty of encouraging marshals, very nice technical t-shirt and a surprisingly quick course. First two miles have quite a bit of climbing, but after that it's flat or downhill all the way. Thank you Horsforth Harriers!
Date of review: September 25, 2011

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

In short: Nice low-key race with not too much climbing and a wearable t-shirt.
In full: Friendly race that combines some fast very runnable sections with only two or three short climbs. The section near the start is a bit congested as you run on the pavement up the A65, but once you've turned left down towards the canal things get much better. The marshals were good and encouraging and a goody bag containing fruit, chocolate, a drink and a nicely-designed, good quality t-shirt was very welcome. Would like to be back next year. Thanks Kirkstall Harriers.
Date of review: September 18, 2011

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

In short: Great organisation, well marshalled, tough hills but a good family day out.
Date of review: July 26, 2010

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

In short: Fantastic Race - Great value - Great Atmosphere - Great Organisation
In full: Conditions were so much better than last year and I actually managed to enjoy it this time round! Thanks to all involved. See you next year.
Date of review: September 14, 2009

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

In short: Great organisation, great course.
In full: Really enjoyed this race. The weather was glorious and the organisation was superb. If you fancy doing an off-road (mainly*) half-marathon then I would definitely recommend this. The course is mostly quite flat with one long hill and a couple of short ones. I'll definitely be back next year.
*There was a surprising amount of tarmac in the first three miles.
Date of review: April 6, 2009

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Overall score		80%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		80%
PB potential		20%
Atmosphere		100%
Organisation		80%
Value		100%
Beginner-friendliness		40%

In short: Very Very Tough! Great friendly atmosphere, fantastic
Date of review: September 15, 2008

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

In short: Small friendly race that could have done with more marshalls
In full: I enjoyed this race - a few hills including the long one up the gravelly track. There seemed to be very few marshalls though (a lot of Bingley Harriers were doing the race itself) At one T-junction I was not sure which way to go - no marshall and no arrow. Were told there was a drinks station at "approximately half way" - so I ignored the one at two miles-ish assuming there would be another one later - there wasn't. Very few people (if any?) handing out drinks here or at the end. I managed a PB - but not sure if some inaccurate measuring had something to do with it (or restrictions from the Harewood Estate on where the start and finish had to go) Thanks to the organisers and marshalls who were there though - I'll still consider it for next year.
Date of review: June 10, 2007

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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: Well organised friendly race. Not too challenging for beginners.
In full: Overall a very enjoyable race. More on tarmac than I expected, but varied terrain was welcomed. No kilometre/mile markers - made it hard to pace myself. Would definitely do this one again. Thanks Horsforth Harriers.
Date of review: May 27, 2007

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

In short: Excellent organisation, friendly event.
In full: Everything was really well organised - the baggage check-in, the start, the frequent water stations, the marshalling. It made me proud to be a Leeds resident (and a Leeds City Council employee.)
Date of review: May 7, 2006

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