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: If this isn't the best Half Marathon in the world then I want to see what is
In full: This is road running perfection for people who understand what real races are about. A location that takes the breath away still on my third time there and great organisation from people who really understand what makes a great race - no fuss, no nonsense, bargain entry fee and the whole village make the runners feel that they are wanted, not some annoyance.
Date of review: September 12, 2011

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

In short: Brilliant yet again, the only truly "multi" terrain race I know
In full: My sixth time in a row and it never fails to please, in practice the waterlogging was not the issue feared. Amused at the shouts of disapproval I got for descending the dune at fell running pace.
Date of review: January 16, 2011

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

In short: Utterly wonderful
In full: I'm shaking my head at the "goody bag whingers" and assorted other remarks, if you don't think ths race is very special then I'm afraid you have no soul. This covers the 2009 and 2010 races.
Date of review: September 17, 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: One of the highlights of the running year and becoming a classic
In full: First run in 1979 this race with a sell-out on the day has joined the likes of the Merthyr Mawr Christmas Pudding 10K as one of those that people in the know just don't miss. Greg gets it spot on every year. Its hilarious that utterly mundane 20+ quid road 10Ks will get ranked better than this race by people who don't know what they are talking about.
Date of review: September 1, 2010

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

In short: Calm Down, Calm Down
In full: Yes there were a few problems with marshalling in the town and yes I didn't get the reassuring feeling of a runners race organised by runners but I thought this race deserves another chance because it has enough elements to be very good. I'd suggest . . .
1. Unambiguous and prominent signage through the town route (out and back).
2. Forget the T-Shirts and memorabilia, genuine runners just don't want it.
3. Measure the course with a Garmin, mine said 6.37 miles.

Oh and the marshalling outside the town centre was first-class by the way.
Loved the super-fast "Scenic 7" style descent.
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		80%
Organisation		100%
Value		80%
Beginner-friendliness		60%

In short: Excellent scenic and testing multiterrain race
In full: The fantastic weather meant that you were only up against the terrain so this is a very fair test of off-road running. I could see that with enough rain in the lead-up this could be very hard (this is not a criticism and I look forward to that eventuality). Three of us from my club made the trip from Cardiff and were well pleased and one of our number was first MV60 so a good morning out.
Date of review: April 18, 2010

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

In short: A Character-Building 20 Mile Race
In full: Firstly I must declare my bias as a member of San Domenico. I always say that this race is harder than a course profile suggests but all the better for it as if we keep our eye on the ball and remember that many of us are training for the spring marathons, then we must remember the maxim of Marshal Suvarov - "Train Hard, Fight Easy" :-)
This was my third race of the weekend and I enjoyed it, as a comment on the marshalling and the arrows, I thought that the white arrows were impossible to misunderstand and I didn't have one moment of confusion. This is a very marshal-intensive course so the marshals tend to be deployed to meet the needs of safety first. Finally the race shirt - technical material available in Small, Medium or Large, now I run a silly number of races and nobody else does this.
Date of review: March 28, 2010

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

In short: Very Tough Multiterrain Race for real runners
In full: My second time here, tougher than 2007 due to the icy conditions and more rain. This race is everything that "big city" event junkies races aren't, this is a real runners race, when you are going up the fields in the last mile to the finish you are hurting.
Date of review: December 20, 2009

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

In short: The best multiterrain race in the known universe
In full: My fifth time in five years, no other multiterrain race I have done is anything like as "multi" - don't change anything. Good to see that the chicanery from some competitors at the top of the dune in 2008 was not repeated.
Date of review: December 18, 2009

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

In short: The best mass participation race no question
In full: Like Alex I'm bemused at some of the comments, its a 10K race people, what matters is the race, not what you think should be in the goodie bag or where Swansea is. The point is that they get the race spot on, that is all. Oh and water stations for 10Ks, one at about 5K is the standard.
Date of review: September 28, 2009

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