My Event Ratings

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

In short: Nice route, quite fast, expensive!
In full: Only the second time this has been staged and the first time I've entered as a local lad. What put me off last year was the price, not VFM in my opinion, but I did it this year out of necessity to kick start my training again.

For a small race it was unecessarily chaotic at the registration with baffling queues for numbers and then chips. A minor gripe but this is the one thing that the organisers need to sort out for next year - to be fair they recognised that with a pre-race announcement.

Other than that, the route is very pleasant and rather quick albeit mostly off-road running.

A nice mix of people who looked like they were in it for fun and I'd say well done to the organisers and volunteers - listen to the feedback and improve where necessary. The price is also over-inflated which will definitely put people off. It's a local 10k not an event half marathon! If it means cutting down on goodies then do so - I reckon most people would only really value a running tee anyway.

Good to see a Winsford race back in the calendar...thanks.
Date of review: October 28, 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		80%

In short: A race to be proud of!
In full: My first marathon and the fantastic organisation mentioned countless times elsewhere made this very worthwhile. Credit yet again to the team that organised this race - you did a grand job. Plaudits also to the folks from Chester and the surrounding villages. I have run the Chester Half twice before through some of the same route but the support for this race was just fantastic - it made all the difference to my tired legs. Flat for the most part but a couple of hills at the end floored me and plenty of others too. The marshals were great and the staff at all the drinks stations equally so - if you're reading then well done to you all and more of the same next year please! The race is billing itself as the UKs future favourite regional marathon, and if this is anything to go by then I wholeheartedly support that claim.
Date of review: October 10, 2011

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

In short: No fluffy clouds here! Hard graft but very rewarding.
In full: First time at this race and congratulations to the organisers; from car park to race marshals, it was all very well done. Showers and soup etc. at the end all very welcome.

Suffering from the lurgy prior to and during this one, the hard initial climb filled me with dread and lived up to its reputation. Many more stiles and stoppages than I expected in the early miles, but I wasn't complaining of the rest. The rocky single track route up The Cloud made for single file - often walking - progress, but the descent was exhilarating. Unfortunately this was then followed by a second 'sneaky' hill which was almost as big as the first! All in all, very enjoyable and special mention to the poor guy who ricked his ankle at just mile one and had to retire - get well soon!
Date of review: March 6, 2011

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

In short: Mixed bag for third year running - won't be back for this one
In full: This is the third time that I've done this race, mainly because it is on my doorstep and is a nice way to blow off the Christmas cobwebs. However, I must say that I ought to have reconsidered after last year's event, which was bizarrely held on sheet ice all the way around. This time we had another impromptu course - and distance - change. Given that the Forestry Commission no doubt play a large part in this, the fault is not entirely that of the organisers, but I would warn anyone thinking of entering that the distance is by no means guaranteed. Organisation was good, and tea/cakes at the end was a nice touch, but I am inclined to think that the race is somewhat overpriced and I am not sure that I want to enter again next year.
Date of review: January 8, 2011

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

In short: Would have been better with crampons or ice skates!
In full: Agree pretty much with the previous posters. Accepting that the current weather was always going to make this difficult, I was actually surprised that it went ahead at all. The state of the sheet-iced car park at the event was foreboding, and the actual course not much better. Absolutely treacherous, and I'm surprised that no-one was seriously hurt (or were they?) Route definitely not 10k - I bettered my time from last years event, even though that was held in superior conditions! The aforementioned 'death slide' hill was tackled by most on their backsides and I saw a number of people fall over. If a kids event was indeed held, then the organisers should be ashamed - the conditions were not suitable at all. Could it not have been deferred? Pleasurable only in a sadistic kind of way I'm afraid.
Date of review: January 4, 2010

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

In short: A top-notch run in Cheshire's most scenic setting - great!
In full: First time on this run, but I will be back. Perfect weather helped, and the scenery is fabulous. First 2k moderate then an arduous climb into the Peckforton Hills. This followed by rocky descent and a canter through all varieties of arable land. Lots of stiles en route. Not a PB course (for me at least) but highly recommended. Organisation good but watch out that you get the correct car park (past Beeston Market on the RHS).
Date of review: April 5, 2009

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