My Event Ratings

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

In short: If only all races were this well organisied!
In full: Phil Eccleston & his colleagues did an absolutely fantastic job of organising this event! From photographing some of the course beforehand, reccies, making maps & elevations available, plus recording the route on his Garmin so that it was available to download if you had a Garmin device - brilliant! To all those marshalls stood out in the freezing cold - thank you! And a Marathon for £20!? With some splendid scenery! What more could you want? Puts all those expensive city marathons to shame.
Date of review: March 12, 2013

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

In short: Well done to the organiser & marshalls
In full: I enjoyed the inaugural event in 2012, but this was a marked improvement: plenty of parking spaces; Race HQ, port-a-loos & mobile cafe all very close by; free (hot) food for runners; & a good goody-bag once again. My Garmin recorded just the 139 feet of ascent over the entire course, so it's pretty damn flat! Along quiet country roads too. Thanks to all the marshalls, who braved freezing conditions.
Date of review: January 22, 2013

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

In short: Once every 20 years makes this special
In full: Despite the poor weather conditions - cold, wet & windy - this was still seen by many as ‘one not to miss’, as it’s only held every 20 years. Rather surprisingly (for Preston), the route lived up to its description of mildly undulating, but it was largely uninspiring, although running up and down vehicle-less dual carriageways was quite novel. It also gave us the opportunity to wave and encourage one another on the turn rounds. There was a reasonable turnout of spectators who braved the disappointing weather, which provided a good, almost carnival atmosphere in the city centre - where music was blasting out - and under the road bridges. We got a good t-shirt & medal for our endeavours, plus the added bonus of bananas!

Date of review: December 10, 2012

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

In short: Still smiling with satisfaction 3 days later
In full: The grand Pavilion Gardens are a lovely setting for the Race HQ, assembly point and finish, & whilst it’s a busy little town, parking wasn’t too much of a problem. By anyone’s definition of the term - this route is hilly. From the start it’s a steady 623 feet climb over 2.8 miles before the turn-off from the main road down a country lane. By this junction you’re almost 1,600 feet above sea-level and the panoramic views over the Peak District are a great distraction. Over the next 4 miles there’s 900 feet of descent with one long 2 mile section a great opportunity to build up some momentum. After which there’s an ascent of 500 feet over the next 1.5 miles. Another quick downhill section and there’s another 200 feet climb over 1.5 miles as you re-enter Buxton. Except for the beginning and end stretches the course is rural and the bit of zigzagging around the large leafy houses towards the finish seemed very much out of context. It was very satisfying rounding the park to be greeted by quite a large crowd at the finish. This was great value for money & a well organised race, complete with mile markers, frequent stations dispensing handy bottles of Buxton mineral water, a pace car, & what was a clever touch - rubber mats over the many cattle grids. It was a pleasantly cool & dry day and even the wind couldn’t lessen my enjoyment. I’m just surprised more runners - than the 368 who participated - don’t compete in this. Probably not one for novices though.
Date of review: June 3, 2011

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

In full: This was a new route and very enjoyable it was too, despite it being 2 laps! Taking us through the scenic Worden Park and around it’s outskirts via quiet country roads. There were plenty of marshals and those on the road bends had red flags to signal car drivers to slow down – a nice touch. There was even a water station. Whilst not quite flat it had definite PB potential. Parking in the park was limited but there was plenty of space just outside. At £7 to £9 to enter it was reasonable & we received a t-shirt & mug. I'll keep an eye out for his event next year.
Date of review: May 15, 2011

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

In short: Smiling in the rain
In full: In all my visits to the Lakes I’ve never been to the quaint little village of Hawkshead or it’s surrounding area, and what a delight this was! As usual this Lakeland event was easy to find & parking wasn’t an issue has they’d commandeered a very large field for the occasion. Unfortunately the grey day - as anticipated - turned to drizzle, which certainly dampened the party spirit and curtailed the usual build-up. The route though lived up to its promise and turned out to be another beautiful Lakeland trail. This one is very undulating, and feels like two short fell races back to back, taking us up and around Claife Heights, down to the lakeside of Windermere and back up the aptly named ‘coffin trail’ before the final descent to the finish. Whilst it was a shame the low clouds masked the mountainous views there was still plenty to look at on the tops. My device too measured it at 10.48 miles. And well done to the marshals. The organisers have put the prices up, and the £26 fee is almost as steep as some of the terrain, but next year I’ll get my entry in early and do all three in the Spring series. The Lakeland Trails are the highlight of my running calendar.
Date of review: May 14, 2011

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

In short: Quick but organisation needs improving
In full: This is 2-lap course passed industrial estates & non-descript houses, so there’s not much to look at but it’s flat & fast. There is one draw-back however - it’s along busy roads which aren’t traffic free which called for a haphazard, virtually rolling start! There’s restricted parking too, but at least there’s toilet, changing & shower facilities in the sports complex. It cost £10 to enter and all we got was a coaster, so not good value for money. To make matters worse it was unfortunately an uncomfortably hot morning so the organisers had to improvise a water station too. This has definite PB potential, but regrettably circumstances conspired against me on the day.
Date of review: May 9, 2011

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

In short: Quick but could be better organisied
In full: It had been said for previous years - and I’d hoped they’d rectified it – the start is a 10 min walk from race HQ and then once the gun goes you’ve got a very congested couple of laps around the small car park before you head out onto the road. After this it’s a very pleasant route along the beach road & promenade to the windmill and back. The scenery is nice, including views right out across the bay to Southport. The course couldn’t be any flatter with only a few sharpish bends to slow you down so this has definite PB potential, which is primarily why I chose it. Perhaps due to a cool & heavily overcast day, with the threat of rain imminent, there weren’t many spectators to spur us on. Parking is a bit of a conundrum; near race HQ space is at a premium, so should everyone drive down to nearer the start once they’ve checked in? The goody bag was indeed packed with quite a few goodies, and whilst there was no shirt etc. inside it was better than many events I’ve attended. I may well be back for this next year to attempt another PB.
Date of review: March 21, 2011

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

In short: Cheap & Local
In full: I chose this event because it was cheap - £6.00 – and fairly local. It turned out to be very accessible, just a mile off the M61 motorway, and there was ample car parking, which was well sign-posted. It was an undulating, clearly marked route along a couple of main roads & two minor roads, with a few local people about to cheer us on. It’s a fairly quick course, but not flat enough for serious PB targets. The scenery was split into rural and suburban. At the finish we were rewarded with a t-shirt. Not a special event but pleasant enough.
Date of review: March 9, 2011

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

In short: Quick
In full: Despite a relatively small number of runners – 387 – parking was a little awkward and we had to cross a dual carriageway to reach the event. The scenery was nothing special, a 2 lap route around a semi-rural housing estate and along the afore mentioned carriageway. And the only “prize” for finishing was a mug. But the big plus point for this race is that it’s so flat and quick a PB is a easily possible, so much so that about a dozen from my club - myself included - did achieve PBs! I don’t think I’ll be entering this again in 2011 though, I’ll try other locations instead.
Date of review: January 26, 2011

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