My Event Ratings

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

In short: Good value no-frills local half-marathon.
In full: This is a pretty flat course, amidst pleasant rural scenery (once you get out of the industrial estate!) - so rural in fact that you shouldn't expect to see many people cheering you on!

This is a half-marathon which is best suited to runners who don't particularly want to do an "event" race (such as the Great North Run, or the Hastings Half), and aren't bothered about a medal (you can quickly get enough of those), but do like the very reasonable entry price - so it's exactly the sort of thing you'd look for in a warm-up event for a spring marathon, or if you are looking to smash your PB. I had a good time and am really glad I did it. Plenty of club runners there, but that's because the run suited more experienced runners, who in turn might not be attracted to some other runs I could think of.

A few small extra things would make a real difference - a PA system, race clock and some bottled water at the end would be nice (even if this pushed the price up by a couple of quid), and just a small number of extra marshalls would be really useful. Also it wasn't entirely clear at some points where we had to share the road with cars. As the race sold out fairly quickly I wonder how much scope (or desire amongst the organisers) there is to increase the number of entrants, but something to think about for the future. But a big thank you to the organisers, and all the marshalls and cadets (who were great) who helped out at the water stations and car parks.
Date of review: February 21, 2012

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Well organised, reasonably scenic and quite flat
In full: I thought it was a really well organised race. Good use of the racecourse (which was easy to get in and out of), a reasonably scenic route (most of the time), good crowd support, lots of loos and drinks stations, good medal and technical t-shirt, plenty of communication with the organisers in the run-up to the event (I never went to the training runs, but great idea) - organisers of other events should study this carefully as there are plenty of things they could pick up from this.
Date of review: October 11, 2011

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Beautiful, hilly, well-organised
In full: This is a great runing festival in many respects - celebrity starter (Colin Jackson), four runs to choose from, beautiful scenery, some challenging hills (at least for the half and full marathon - think twice if this would be your first run at those distances), good organisation, and a nice atmosphere with a few things for non-running friends and family to see and do. It could be made even better by having the route avoid roads that have quite a few passing cars (though they do behave themselves) and slope to one side and by having the medals engraved with the name and year of the race (e.g. "Anglesey Half Marathon 2010").

My thanks to the organisers, and I hope the festival goes from strength to strength - I could well imagine this getting a lot more popular in years to come.
Date of review: September 28, 2010

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Flat course, plenty of puddles, well organised, nice finish
In full: Not the most scenic route, but a competent well-organised run finishing with a lap round the athletics track. Well organised, but not sure if there were enough lockers to go round, goody bag was nothing great (I'm not a fan of them anyway). Large amounts of rain before the race resulted in a very small change to the route, and plenty of puddles along the way, but no real problems. Thanks to all concerned at ESM.
Date of review: December 7, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Pleasant surroundings, well organised
In full: As a member of Dulwich Park Runners I know the park and surrounding streets well, so I knew the route, which was nice enough, though marred by roadworks. The runners were fairly tightly bunched together, so you had to watch your step at times. Also, I (and others) couldn't hear the marshall issuing instructions just before the start - a loudhailer might be useful! But these are minor gripes - overall good value for money and a nice way to spend an autumn sunday morning.
Date of review: October 12, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator

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

In short: Lovely scenery & flat course
In full: A nice little race, nearly all of which is on a flat track overlooking an estuary, so beautiful scenery and good PB potential. However, in the first half of the race runners had the wind against them, but coming back, the wind was pushing us back to the finishing line, which was good!
Date of review: October 5, 2009

Report this rating to the moderator