My Event Ratings

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

In short: Excellent organisation and atmosphere!
In full: Second time I've run the race so I knew what to expect... A nice wide start that narrowed quickly resulting in a brief walking section :( - please fix this!

The hill wasn't too bad - just put your head down and keep the legs pumping. I'm always surprised at the walkers and the way they just stop running without warning. If you're going to walk the hill then that's fine, but please take a little step off the road and racing line.

I hadn't trained much for this one. After a winter of injuries I was just pleased to be running at all. So I forced myself to go slow at the start. I can definitely say that it works!

Through Flackwell Heath and down to Bourne End all was fine and I found myself feeling really good around miles 9 - 10. This was helped greatly by the fact that the road was closed to traffic (unlike the year before).

Once past Treadaway Hill the thought of the finish drags you in like a tractor beam and I was pleased with my time.

Nice goodie bag and a very big medal!!!

All in all a superb morning's run followed by a long kip.

See you next year!
PS - please fix the bottleneck at the start - perhaps have expected finishing time sections at the start???

Date of review: August 21, 2012

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

In short: Challenging, well-organised and uplifting!
In full: First half marathon for me, and what a great experience!

The Wycombe HM is extremely well organised. The task of starting the HM and 10K at the same time causes no problems. Nowhere on the course did we slow down because of bunching. The course was very well marshalled and sign-posted and the watering stations were excellent! Marshals and spectators alike were very enthusiastic.

I knew about the hill at the start as I'd done the 10K the year before. The course snakes up Marlow hill and so never gets too steep. This does a good job of stretching the field out. The rest of the course is fairly flat and the long road from Bourne End to Loudwater presents no issues.

It's strange being able to see the finish line with 2km to go, but the spontaneous enthusiasm of the crowd and announcers never waned and I even got a name check at the finish!

15 quid for such a well organised race, t-shirt, medal and decent goody bag is hard to beat.

Can't really fault the effort put in by everyone involved! Well done and, injuries permitting, see you next year...
Date of review: July 18, 2011

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

In short: Great support - great fun!
In full: Nice experience all round. Registration was smooth - start was well organised. The start/finish line was on a very narrow path and I was squeezed to the back at the start. Oh well...

The support was excellent all around the course and the marshals were very encouraging.

Nice medal/Tshirt/goody bag and the results were up before we got home!

Well done - nice run, but 18 quid??? Ouch!
Date of review: May 8, 2011

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

In short: Great atmosphere and organisation
In full: Loads happening on the Rye to entertain runners, spectators and family members. Lots of information. Don't even attempt the loos, just head for the bushes. Even the announcer was mildly entertaining - even if he couldn't recognise country flags...

"The hill" precluded any thoughts of a PB, but wasn't a race destroyer. I was more fearful of strong winds on Heath End Road, but the weather was very well behaved.

The race was more enjoyable after the Spring Lane split as we could all settle into our stride more and begin the battles.

Rather frustrating to see the finish with 2km still to go! but the route had been well-publicized so we all knew that would happen. The marshals were brilliant: very loud and encouraging!

The kids enjoyed the fun run and everyone had a great time.

My only question is why those runners who had collapsed did not receive treatment, but instead were dragged over the finish line???

Oh well, see you next year!
Date of review: July 19, 2010

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

In short: A Jolly Jaunt in the Woods
In full: Good:
Late registration was very smooth
Well thought out organisation
Event was well sign-posted
Clear mile markers and way-points
Great course through lovely scenery
Weather was perfect
Good parking

Bad
12 quid was a bit steep
All but 3 of the marshals were completely silent. Personally I really appreciate some encouragement and/or information, especially towards the end. Shame because the club had done a grat job overall.
A clock at the end would have been nice.

See you next year
Date of review: June 17, 2010

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

In short: Hills: pretty and tough
In full: Three big climbs provide a big challenge and make for an exciting race.

Registration and facilities were good, but no water along the course, no distance markers and no clock at the end - could do better!

I registered on the day - this made things very steep - then, to rub salt in the wound, I didn't get a T-shirt. What a total rip off!

Still, this is a great race... see you next year.
Date of review: September 20, 2009

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

In short: Superb Race
In full: Very friendly, nice route, well-organised - not much to moan about here!

I didn't see all the mile-markers, but the marshalls were very supportive and knew the distances.

Route was varied, pretty and very flat, though the gravel path on the north side probably took the edge off the times.

I didn't find the bikes doing the event much of a problem, instead it was the traffic coming the other way. I encountered two or three cyclists who put their heads down and drove straight through crowds of runners - ugh! Still nobody's fault really and we should remember the paths are for everyone.

Kids' race was a lot of fun too, by all accounts!

See you next year (and I promise to prepare better i.e. sans booze the night before)
Date of review: September 7, 2009

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

In short: Great race
In full: Totally impressed with all aspects of the race, it really couldn't have been better organised.

I hope those people who were suffering in the heat have recovered quickly. From what I saw, the marshalls and medical staff were doing an excellent job.

Date of review: June 29, 2009

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

In short: Flat/Undulating = Hilly!
In full: This was my first race for around 8 months since suffering a badly sprained ankle, so getting round was a fantastic result for me!

The race setting is very picturesque, but could never be described as flat. No PB opportunities here despite my low level of fitness.

The organisation was efficient and fast; registration was very easy. The course was well signposted and the km markers were very clear. The drinks table was very well run. I’ll definitely do it again.

Here are my constructive criticisms:

1) Give more notice of the start – there was a big queue at the toilets when the first announcement (I could hear) came at 3 mins to go
2) A stretch of the last km was along the exit road, so runners had to negociate the cars and the dust they kicked up
3) Bollards on the inside of corners would have made the course that bit clearer rather than relying on the longer grass
4) 11 quid and no momento? Hmm that’s almost as steep as the hills!

See you next year!

Date of review: June 22, 2009

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

In short: Stunning scenery, great organisation, challenging hills - shame about the t-shirt though!
In full: With scenery like this it would be difficult not to be a great race. Let's get the negatives out of the way first:

First path out of the cricket ground was very narrow and resulted in some jostling and slowing

No t-shirt for on-the-day entries - what a rip-off!

With a mile to go, we turned off the public footpath up a killer hill. I can understand this to make up the distance, but we did at least 400yds more than 5 miles, so what was the point?

OK - those were the cons - here are the pros:

Superb marshalling - no question of taking a wrong path and all marshals were very encouraging

Great atmosphere at a great location

Stunning scenery - really took your mind off the hills

Great to get the results so quickly at the event, and on the website the same evening.

Announcements, information, parking, facilities were all excellent!

See you next year!
Date of review: September 22, 2008

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