My Event Ratings

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

In short: A real mixture of good and could be better
In full: What to say about this event? Patchy is , I think the best response
Organisation - odd , wheelchairs were started 2.5 minutes before the main race. As a result, they got swamped. Not difficult to resolve but still needs to be addressed. With ~18,000 (their numbers) runners, the start was very poorly managed and controlled. Open pens with easy access to any level of time. Having a City Centre start is good for the organisers in terms of spectacle but makes things congested. The finish wasn't much better. I got to the family meeting area to find 3 people there. Signage was generally lamentable.
Route - an odd mixture of very mundane suburbia and dockland, coupled with some good sea views out the barrage. It was also trickier than I had expected with some sneaky, stiff little hills.
Support - again patchy but often unanimated. I 'm not a big fan of the GNR but the locals do turn out and get involved. There were no offers of oranges, ice lollies, tea, beer etc here and not buch applause. Inded in some places, there were no supporters.
Location - parking, getting there and getting away all difficult. The early start meant that public transport wasn't an option so traffic was horrendous.
Suggest the organisers take time and look at how other big races work and learn some lessons. There seems to be a lot of local support for this event so it must be worth getting bit right, or at least better.
Date of review: October 15, 2012

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

In short: It's the people who make it what it is!
In full: Several aspects of the GNR really hack me off, the cost, the blatant self promotion of the organisers and many of the minor celebs who take part. On the other hand, running from Zone D because I didn't fell up to my Zone B start, I saw the better side of the event - the crowds of supporters with oranges, tea, icepops, water and just being there. On top of that, the runners themselves add so much through their commitment and energy.
Not a race I'll ever get a pb but one which offers other attractions.
Date of review: September 18, 2011

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

In short: Does Teesside proud , real pb potential and welcoming too
In full: This is my local Half Marathon and its always good to see how well it is organised. From the shuttle bus service to speed up parking and access through baggage storage and support all along the way, this event does thge area proud. The route is a mix of scenic seaside and get it bout of the way quickly heavy industry but, apart from a railway bridge or two its as flat as you could ask for so lots of pb potential. This year, the race did away with big prize money so didn't attract the few cash hunters it has in previous years. I don't think it suffered as a result.Drinks stations were well spaced out and support generally good, the stewards deserving a lot of credit. Will keep doing this one as long as I am able.
Date of review: June 13, 2011

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

In short: Lots of things the GNR should be
In full: After moving away from Glasgow nearly 40 years ago, this was a real chance to run down lots of memory lanes & recapture my lost youth. I decided to run this event after failing to get into the GNR for the first time since 2001 and really enjoyed the event. This race, rather than event, is friendly, unassuming, laid back, astonishingly well organised and good value. Fantastic local support and probably the greatest numbers of marshals I've seen at an event. Lots of great touches like the pipers every mile.
About the only improvement I could offer would be to offer energy drinks.
Date of review: September 6, 2010

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

In short: Thanks for organising the wind
In full: Always enjoyed this event for several reasons:
Marvellous location in the estate of a moated castle
Off public road and so no issues with traffic
Glorious scenery - views over the Dales & across to Teesside
Good, friendly atmosphere
Chalenging 2 lap route with a stiff hill early on and a smaller one later.
This year, the excellent organisers, Teesdale AC , had cunningly arranged for a stiff wind to be in our faces as we ran up both hill sections. Such thoughtfulness.
This is a really well organised event, even if unlikely to give anyone a pb. Well worth the trip.
Date of review: May 30, 2010

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

In short: Will be back in 10 years
In full: Ran this as the last part of my 60th birthday present as a way of demonstrating that the ageing process hasn't applied to me.
This was the chattiest, friendliest marathon I've done. What with the long sections out of public view, runners could get down to their own pacing and work along with each other to get through the distance. The scenery was wonderful, every time I come back to Scotland, I am struck by the wildness of the landscape and having the chance to run 20 or so miles along the Loch was a real pleasure. Support in terms of drinks stations was impeccable, I would be a little more concerned how they would have handled a real medical emergency out in the wilds though. Organisation at the finish was also really good with easy spectator access and, maybe a pity, but mainly only friends and family of runners watching.
Now for the negatives , firstly the buses, it's the organisers' responsibility to make sure their suppliers don't let them down so one to look out for there and secondly, communications with the organisers were very poor, I'm still waiting for my information pack, even after being promised it 3 times.
As for the race, a pefectly timed run brought me in 42 secs under 4hrs , a pw that I was very happy with. So, a good day out and I will look to celebrate 70 years age here.
Date of review: October 5, 2009

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

In short: Cracked half of GNR problem
In full: Always had 2 issues with GNR
Crowds and starting system
Cost/value for money
This year , thanks to my wife, I managed to start with fast paced club runners in Zone A, right at the front. The result was a stress free beginning with no pushing, ducking, dodging or diving to stay out of the way of everyone else. On top of that, the chance to run at my pace and enjoy the day. The running side went really well, I felt good all the way round, unlike a lot of people who seemed to suffer badly in the heat.
Value for money is a different thing. This event has a very steep entry fee, rakes in cash by getting sponsors to pay for the association. Even with all that, this is one of the poorest goody bags going with a medal, mass produced cotton T shirts and a few other items most likely supplied free ( or even paid for) by manufacturers. 50p off Cif vouchers anyone?
Then there are the 'celebrities' many of whom seem to be looking for some free publicity. In contrast, as an example of grass roots commitment, there was Dame Tanni Grey Thompson out on the course helping out at drinks station. Its thanks to people like her that many of us stay inspired to run, train and compete.
Date of review: September 21, 2009

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

In short: I LOVE Boro, me
In full: This event seems to get better each year across several fronts:
Still very flat,easy course with lots of pb potential.
High level of support from locals with none of the ''I'm on tv look at me of GNR''
Goody bag is one of best 2 I've ever got, streets ahead of GNR & FLM so good value.
Friendly event with lots of local runners and no celebs unless you count Gaizka Mendieta who was supposed to be there somewhere
I could understand comments about problems at the start as the queue seemed to stretch back up the course so high temptation to jump across. As for parking, as a local, I always leave the car in a side street out of the race loop and get straight away. The organisers may be becoming victims of their own success.
Ready to do it again and maybe get to 2nd finisher in my age category.
Date of review: September 7, 2009

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

In short: A grand day out in the country
In full: What to say about this event
Extremely well organised
A challenging course with marvellous scenery to keep your mind off the hill
A fantastic finish past the castle onto the grass
Keep it up Teesdale AC,
I took >3 minutes off last year's time on a really hot day but enjoyed thge whole experience - not many other races where you can watch the deer hiding under trees. After the race , the chance to enjoy the gardens and have a picnic - marvellous
Date of review: May 25, 2009

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

In short: Not a race but an event with still some flaws to sort out
In full: This was my 9th GNR and one of the most enjoyable in terms of running experience. Although my time was ~2 minutes slower than last year,it was the overall experience which counted I found it a good day out in superb weather and with a tremendous atmosphere. There were a couple of issues where I think the organisers need to reflect and consider the situation:
i) Starts - these were definitely worse than last year and do not rerflect participant's individual performance. Although I had a time of 1.33.09 last year, I was put in Pen C and took >4 minutes getting to the start and then most of the rest of the event passing people who were clearly not fit or slower runners. How was starting position determined?
ii) The new family reunion area was much poorer than the previous location in the stadium. It was much more difficult to locate areas and find incoming family members. It's tempting to think that this was because it was more profitable to use the old arena area for paying clients. Hope I'm not wrong.
Date of review: October 6, 2008

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