My Event Ratings

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

In short: Lovely day, but organisation still needs work!
In full: Again I really enjoyed the Cardiff half. Cardiff keep changing the route - this time I think they have got it about right, but with 18,000 runners they have GOT to get more serious about a staged start. They have finally got a "pen" system, but they have to make sure to wait a good 5 mins between each section starting. Today there was so much congestion, bottlenecking, colliding, and yes, people falling over! It did detract from enjoying the race. Also, they should seriously look at finishing in Bute Park, as the area outside of City Hall is just not big enough. And where were the alphabet poles at the end to help people find each other? Nowhere to be seen. Otherwise a lovely race, plenty water stops, a great new route, with loads of potential, and a lot of very keen runners. But unless the organisation gets better they're not going to keep up the numbers.
Date of review: October 14, 2012

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

In short: Brilliant day!
Date of review: April 15, 2012

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

In short: I enjoyed it especially for the scenery/route but they need to sort some stuff out
In full: I really enjoyed this, never done a Kilomathon before so was a bit apprehensive, but this was more than made up for with the lovely route. I'm confused by the person who said it was better in Derby or Nottingham - surely if that's the case they should have entered the English race and not Kilomathon SCOTLAND!!! And I do wish people would stop moaning about T shirts and goody bags - surely neither is a major issue, not why we run. Yes indeed organisation was a bit iffy. Ingliston is not the easiest place to get to/from unless you were going back into Edinburgh on the shuttle buses and many of us were not. Toilets too - not nearly enough at the start - what's more the portaloos I went to had no water! Apart from that, I had a lovely morning, over the Forth bridge and back, raised a good sum for charity and will probably do it again if they can get the organisation sorted out.
Date of review: April 18, 2011

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

In short: I enjoyed it especially for the scenery/route but they need to sort some stuff out
In full: I really enjoyed this, never done a Kilomathon before so was a bit apprehensive, but this was more than made up for with the lovely route. I'm confused by the person who said it was better in Derby or Nottingham - surely if that's the case they should have entered the English race and not Kilomathon SCOTLAND!!! And I do wish people would stop moaning about T shirts and goody bags - surely neither is a major issue, not why we run. Yes indeed organisation was a bit iffy. Ingliston is not the easiest place to get to/from unless you were going back into Edinburgh on the shuttle buses and many of us were not. Toilets too - not nearly enough at the start - what's more the portaloos I went to had no water! Apart from that, I had a lovely morning, over the Forth bridge and back, raised a good sum for charity and will probably do it again if they can get the organisation sorted out.
Date of review: April 18, 2011

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

In short: Brilliant as usual!
In full: Superb race as it always is. Perfect conditions, esp the weather. Bit of a bummer that we can't use the school as that means a real trek to and from start/finish. Also the Amber Bar is a bit small and chaotic, but none of that is the fault of Lliswerry Runners, who did a grand job yet again. Must add that I was delighted with the new improved T shirt. Back next year :-)
Date of review: January 30, 2011

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

In short: Brilliant day - and great reason for coming home!
In full: Brilliant race. It was great to be back home, esp as I hadn't done this one for few years. Weather was brilliant - dry and a bit cloudy so not too warm, then just as the end approached out came the sun - just lovely! The organisation is excellent, my only criticism is that god-awful T shirt! Please - it's time to stop that. No matter what size you order you seem to end up with one that is designed for 6ft tall men. If they insist on doing T shirts, at least have women's fit option, or better still, forget about the T shirt altogether and provide a different sort of memento, like a small towel or something. Other than that, keep it up and hope to be home again for the 2011 race!
Date of review: October 17, 2010

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

In short: Lovely morning - great fun, but could still be better
In full: Weather was beautiful and that always helps. Very impressed with the new route, a good fast course. Only one or two bits of constructive criticism. This is getting more popular each year, and even with the numbers now involved - in the thousands - there is still no "penning" or properly staged start. Result was the start was messy free-for-all. The organisers need to get serious about penning at the start. Other city races have colour-coded bibs, and it works perfectly. Cardiff needs to adopt that. Ditto the end - the fact that we all had to stop and queue up in order to offload our chips and to get a goody bag was not good. After a long run you need to keep moving and get the chance to stretch - standing still in a queue for several minutes will not do. That apart, it was a great morning, and well done. So do see to those problems and Cardiff will be on its way to being one of the great city half marathons.
Date of review: October 17, 2010

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

In short: As usual the sun came out for Merthyr Mawr
In full: As ever, this was a cracking good race. Weather and other conditions perfect. The sand dunes were hellish as always, the 3 deep pools we had to wade through near the end were icy - as expected! Only down side is that this race is becoming a victim of its own success. It's got too big, and I'm not sure a village the size of Merthyr Mawr can cope with th influx of traffic. Some more planning is needed - either limit the numbers drastically to perhaps 400, or try to encourage those attending to ensure there is at least 2 people in each car. That tiny lane to the village can't accommodate the level of traffic we saw today. Otherwise excellent as usual
Date of review: December 13, 2009

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

In short: Getting better!
In full: Really enjoyed it this year - better than previous. The new route is far, far better than before. Only downsides relate to organisation - the baggage place was, as others have already said, really dire, with schoolkids doing their best - that's just not on! Also, it was very congested. I found myself bumping into people a bit too often. As someone has already pointed out, I know the organisers have ambitions to increase the numbers further, but it's hard to see how Cardiff can accommodate any more. All that said, well done and I'll be back again.
Date of review: October 18, 2009

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

In short: Always enjoy this one, but more so this year
In full: This is a wee gem of a race. Excellent value, unpretentious, and this year I was delighted to find that it's now all off-road, on the Taff Trail, having switched from going through some of the villages. (That was always a bit of a bind as you had to stick to the pavements and they were too narrow). So yes very pleased with the new route. Weather better this year too, conditions were in fact quite perfect. Well done again and look forward to next year.
Date of review: August 23, 2009

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