My Event Ratings

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

In short: Not as good as previous years
In full: Definite potential for a PB but possibly not this year with the wind although I was close to mine so it wasn't impossible.
As with every race I've been to, there were queues for the toilets right up until start time, this seems to be standard.
The course was slightly different this year (I did this race in 2008 and 2009) but I don't think it made too much difference. Yes there are a few short inclines (over railways, motorways etc) and one long, gentle hill around 10-11 miles, not as bad as I remember from previous years.
The support was as expected really, patchy but ok. There was a long stretch between 7 and 8 miles down a country lane with an energy sapping road surface that sticks in my memory!
Disappointing that the energy drinks weren't supplied and the goody bag was quite empty but a nice medal.
One of the main irritants now though is that the chip times aren't published and the race website doesn't come up on a Google search.
I think the race has gone slightly down hill this year but it's local so I'll probably do it again.
Date of review: May 23, 2011

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

In short: My 6th and toughest half. Be prepared for the hills.
In full: Well organised, good price and lovely location. I found it quiet on the course and missed the volume of spectators that accompany the road races I usually do - others might find this a plus point though. The spectators that were there were very encouraging though. It was my first non road race which I found challenging - uneven underfoot, quite a lot of lose stones and a few steep hills to cope with - not my forte! I would suggest taking your own drinks as the water stations give out cups which are hard to drink on the move and I ended up with 1 or 2 mouthfuls only.
Overall, not a good race for me but if you like quieter scenic routes and don't mind a few hills, I'm sure you'll love it.
Date of review: March 27, 2011

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

In short: Poor organisation let this race down
In full: Poorly organised from start to finish. Chaos at the beginning as people were not in the right colour groups and were all mixed up, hard work to push past people to try and get to the right 'pen'. Race didn't start on time and once over the start line it was walking for the first quarter of a mile due to the volume of runners and a narrow route around a bend right at the start. First 5 miles were difficult again due to the number of runners - tripping over people's heels and weaving in and out - probably due to the confusion at the start and everyone being mixed up rather than in their predicted finish time order. People were walking from the first mile onwards. The worst part was the finish where the was such a queue to pick up the foil blankets that the runners were queued back over the timing chip mat so those who were coming in to the finish couldn't actually run over it and their time wasn't recorded. The route itself wasn't too bad, a few tight corners that were difficult in large numbers and a couple of steep but short hills.
Date of review: October 24, 2010

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