Latest Ratings
| 1 to 10 of 24 ratings | Page: 1 2 3 |
2013 Hull 10K
 | | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Poor Hull - short course again!
In full: After the Jane Tomlinson Half Marathon in Leeds last week with near perfect organisation I had high hopes for this Jane Tomlinson race. Sadly I was disappointed. The race had to be shortened and also due to a high number of last minute entries there wasn't enough t-shirts. I agree with the comments here that £28 for a 9km race with a medal, bottle of water and 2 cheap Asda caramel bars is a bit steep. The course was also very wriggly and narrow in places, with a high potential for bottlenecks. However, despite the problems I did enjoy the race, especially as I was running it as a teddy bear for charity. I do think it could have been better especially for the price.
Date of review: May 20, 2013
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2013 Leeds Half Marathon
| | Overall score | | 100% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 100% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great organisation, great medal, great value, great race
In full: Very good organisation and plenty of water on route. Starting corral seemed to work somehow. There wasn't much pushing past despite not being separated by times. The start was very good with no bottlenecks. Excellent support with plenty of jelly babies and even a hosepipe shower from the locals. The first half was more challenging than the second half and it was great to get to Kirkstall Abbey knowing you we're on the home stretch. Great support at the end with impressive medal and tshirt. Also impressed with the ability to get a print out of your finishing time literally straight after you finished. We'll be back next year especially with the great early bird discount!
Date of review: May 14, 2013
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2013 Rock'n'Roll Edinburgh Half Marathon
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Fantastic race, shame about the weather
Date of review: April 21, 2013
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2013 BHF Warwick Castle Half Marathon - SOLD OUT
| | Overall score | | 40% | | Would you do it again? | | Maybe | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 40% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Good support, good race, naff medal, naff parking
In full: We were fortunate to arrive well before 8am so getting into the car park wasn't too much of a problem except sliding in the mud. However getting out took ages and the stewards at the exit made people turn left or right irrespective of where they wanted to go. The race had a good atmosphere with enthusiastic support even in remote rural areas. There were plenty of marshalls and water. There was a bottleneck when re-entering the castle grounds and the muddy final stretch wasn't much fun. We were very disappointed with the medal which didn't even say what event it was for, the date or the distance.
Date of review: March 17, 2013
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2012 Run Preston 5K 2011
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 40% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Great race, awful weather!
In full: A huge thank you to the marshals and spectators who stood in the cold, wind and pouring rain all day! The organisation at the start of this race was excellent and the free car parking was very welcome. The Guild hall provided everything we needed including changing rooms ( perfect at the end when we were soaking and could get changed into dry clothes quickly), water, baggage area, number pick up and most of all a nice warm, dry area to wait until the start of the race. The Guild staff were very friendly and were able to assist with any directions and questions. There were plenty of water stops and the choice of caffeine or non-caffeine gels was a nice touch. There were a couple of niggles on the course. There were points were the slower runners were in danger of head on collisions with the faster runners, with marshals telling us to keep left, then right but I appreciate it must have been difficult to organise both the marathon and half marathon routes. My other slight niggle was that my Garmin was on par with the marathon mile signs and not the half marathon signs so it showed 13.26 miles at the end. Otherwise a very well organised, friendly race that was reasonably flat, nothing too hilly. An enjoyable race, despite the awful weather conditions.
Date of review: October 30, 2012
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2012 Coventry Half Marathon
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 80% | | PB potential | | 80% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 60% |
In short: Perfect weather for a good race
In full: I agree with the earlier comments that collecting the race numbers and chips was a right pain. The collecting instructions and map weren't very helpful so it wasn't until we arrived in Coventry that we found we had a 20 mins bus ride to go and collect them! Please can they be posted out next year? The race itself was very good and the marshalls lovely and friendly. Although we went through sparsely populated countryside there were still spectators out there cheering us on. The steel band at the 7 mile mark near Allesbury (I think!) was excellent and a lovely surprise in the middle of nowhere. The water stations were also spot on with very friendly volunteers. The medal, water and banana at the end was very welcome and much better than a bag of leaflets. It was an excellent race with just the one exception for us slower runners. Just past mile 4 the marshalls stopped some of us so they could unblock the road and let the traffic through for several minutes as they said the drivers had been waiting a while. The race was advertised as road free for those runners under 3.15 so it was disappointing to be stopped mid-race to allow traffic to pass despite being well under the 3.15 and only after 4 miles.
Date of review: October 15, 2012
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2012 Experian Robin Hood Half Marathon, Nottingham
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 100% | | Atmosphere | | 80% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Very flat, well organised race
In full: This was one of the flattest races I have done and I enjoyed every minute of it. I thought the atmosphere was really good and it was very well organised. The new style water pouches created a few comedy moments. They were very good and much better than cups or bottles but runners hadn't quite got to grips with how they worked. The instructions shouted of 'just squeeze' caused a few runners to squeeze too hard and they got an unexpected shower! The drummers at the university were excellent and very motivating. Just a couple of little things to report - one being that having the photo shoot for the runners going for the Robin Hood record was too early. We tried to get there for 8am but missed it by 10 minutes or so due to getting a bit lost in Nottingham. It would have been nice if this could have been done a bit later. Also it was a real shame that several boxes of medals were allegedly stolen. I ended up getting a Mini Marathon one instead of a Half Marathon one. Otherwise I thought the organisers did a great job. I also liked the goody bag, the chicken coating stuff was a strange item but the mars bar was welcome at the end.
Date of review: October 1, 2012
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2012 Isle of Wight Marathon and Half
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 20% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 80% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 40% |
In short: The hilliest half ever!
In full: Me and my hubby decided to do this race while on holiday on the Isle of Wight. It is one of the hottest, hilliest and hardest half marathons we have done but we thoroughly enjoyed it. I admit cars were a bit of an issue at the start however I didn't have any problems with finding my way round the course despite being near the back for the whole race. It was extremely hot and I was very grateful for the offer of additional sponges and water poured into my hands in the last few miles. Everyone was really friendly and I thought it was a well organised race done by a running club with a lot of experience. My hubby was much nearer the front and enjoyed the cameraderie with the other runners, especially the encouragement up those hills. This is a challenging, no frills race with a medal but an enjoyable one.
Date of review: September 8, 2012
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2012 Bupa Great Yorkshire Run
| | Overall score | | 60% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 40% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 40% | | Organisation | | 80% | | Value | | 40% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 100% |
In short: Well organised race suitable for all abilities
In full: I agree with the comments already made in that the bands were disappointing. Although the young singers were very good they weren't very motivating or rousing and I didn't hear one band play at all while I past them going out and coming back. The cheerleaders and charity supporters were very good though and motivating. The aerobic warm up was excellent as he'd planned ahead and done a routine which anyone could join in and he made good use of the limited space when you are in the penned area. The first km was very slow as the road narrowed so there was a bit of a bottleneck and you just had to go with the flow. The goody bag was very good with practical energy bars and drink in. A well organised race but lacking in atmosphere for a Bupa event.
Date of review: September 6, 2012
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2012 Sheffield Half-Marathon
| | Overall score | | 80% | | Would you do it again? | | Yes | | | | Details: | | Scenery | | 60% | | PB potential | | 60% | | Atmosphere | | 60% | | Organisation | | 60% | | Value | | 60% | | Beginner-friendliness | | 80% |
In short: Excellent support on Ecclesall Road again!
In full: We didn't have any issues with parking. We arrived at 7.45am and went straight into the Arena car park as advertised with no queue at all. I really enjoyed starting and finishing in the stadium. Those last few metres along the track has a really buzz about it with everyone in the stadium cheering you on. I really appreciated the extra water stations that had been put on due to the heat, and the sponges were lovely, but agree that there was some crowding especially at the first one. As per previous years the highlight for this race for me is Ecclesall Road. The support on both sides of this road is incredible and really uplifting. Sheffield is traditionally an industrial city so I don't think the organisers can avoid running through some of them. I really enjoyed this race despite the heat.
Date of review: May 28, 2012
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