My Event Ratings

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

In short: Undulating in places but beginner-friendly
In full: Just one gripe, organisers... Why did the banners at race start feature a runner wearing headphones when you specifically ask participants NOT to wear them during the race? Talk about mixed messages!

That aside, tidy and well organised event. Perfectly adequate provision of marshals and water stations, no real bottlenecks at race start, and free table tennis facilities went down a treat with yours truly!
Date of review: October 14, 2012

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Overall score		60%
Would you do it again?		No
Details:
Scenery		100%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		40%
Value		20%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In short: For £28, must do better...
In full: Good that organisers have taken the flak for mis-measuring the course, but they could hardly do anything else when confronted with the evidence of a thousand Garmins. This isn't a Saturday morning club run, this is a big money-spinner and people ARE entitled to feel aggrieved if they feel they haven't got £28 worth of customer service. The insulting bags - let's not call them goody bags as there were nothing but flyers in them - and the under-staffed baggage areas (thank you to the volunteers) - all reeked of an organiser skimping on its overheads to maximise profits. Rightly or wrongly, that's my perception and with hotel rooms in Brighton not coming cheap, I think I'll look elsewhere for a race this time next year.
Date of review: February 20, 2012

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

In short: One of running's best-kept secrets!
In full: Well organised, great atmosphere. You will lose a few seconds on the occasional hairpin but make no mistake, it's a fast course. Hope they can pull in even more runners next year as it raises money for a great cause.
Date of review: November 6, 2011

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

In short: Best Brum half yet
Date of review: October 30, 2011

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

In short: Pleasant race, great support
In full: First time doing this race and generally enjoyable, I got the impression that a lot of runners tempered their efforts to take account of the exceptionally warm weather. There were a few quibbles but nothing that can't be rectified.

First water station was too far out at 4m, given the exceptionally warm conditions.

I couldn't see any mile markers after mile 10. Luckily I was just aiming to get around yesterday but it must have been frustrating for those aiming for specific times

Good last mile or so, roads were nice and wide which is good for a fast finisher like me. Support around the course and particularly in Cov itself was also excellent.

Nit-Picking Section: the inclusion of a bag of Space Invaders in the goody bag was a bit tacky and just plain daft - give us a banana instead! I picked up a Medium t-shirt but when I got home it turned out to be the smallest Medium I've ever seen...


Date of review: October 3, 2011

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

In short: Birmingham City Council - for crying out loud get some experienced runners to help you organise this race next year
In full: What does "Race Against Climate Change" even mean if you can't get a train to the start? I'm afraid it's difficult not to believe that the council simply want to gobble up as much in entry fees as possible without the hassle of planning properly. Organising events of this calibre requires relevant experience. There are numerous running clubs in this region with that experience, but very little evidence that any of them were consulted.

Notwithstanding all of this, I did a PB in what was my 11th half, but I am very disappointed for all those affected by the logjam at the finish. I've never seen the like before.

This is my home race and I desperately want it to become a successful event, but Birmingham needs to think about capping numbers next year so that they can focus on logistics - talk of 20,000 is sheer lunacy based on what I saw on Sunday.
Date of review: October 26, 2010

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

In short: Nice setting and great PB territory
Date of review: October 11, 2009

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