My Event Ratings

Overall score		40%
Would you do it again?		Yes
Details:
Scenery		60%
PB potential		60%
Atmosphere		80%
Organisation		20%
Value		100%
Beginner-friendliness		80%

In full: I'll start with the positives…... A really enjoyable undulating route that had plenty to keep your interest. Great location for the start with loads of space and a good atmosphere. My first hint of poor organisation was that the public loos were still locked at 9am. No worries, hundreds of people myself included went to Wetherspoons to warm up and spend a penny. Headed to the start line with about 10 minutes to go but there were no public announcements. With there being 2 races, a 5k and a 10k I asked someone if I was in the right place and he said he was hoping we were all starting together. He was guessing too but that was good enough for me. Then a chap stood at the front and started speaking into the megaphone just as the clock bells started chiming, all a bit comedy as it drowned him out. I moved forward and caught his last sentence "We don't want any world records today so would all 10k runners make sure then only go over the finish line when they have done 2 laps!" Priceless, you couldn't make it up given the shortened course and everyone smashing their PBs. No attempt was made to encourage people to start in the appropriate place. I was close to the front and in the shadow of a runner with "Fat, Fifty, Forty fags a day and in front of you" written on his back. The photo of the start line on the official website shows someone who was overtaken by all but 42 of the field. The race itself was great, it thinned out pretty quickly with one very obvious exception was well marshalled. With uphills, dips and right angle turns it meant that positions swapped backwards and forwards rather than just being a procession. Crossed the line with the Garmin saying 5.49 miles (=8.83kms) but had realised long before that there was something very wrong. Jaffa cakes, mince pies and water were in plentiful supply. For me the distance error was annoying as I was ahead of my PB pace, but for those who had travelled from afar with the expense of a hotel it must have been gutting. I'll think of it as spending a tenner to get the benefit of pushing hard on a training run. The price was so cheap you can forgive a lot, but it didn't do what it said on the tin. I'll be back next year because they can't make the same monumental mistake again, can they?
























Date of review: December 4, 2012

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