Sorry, didn't mean to sound like a smarty! That was for the benefit of those who don't know the route and might think that the route was all on main roads.
I suppose all it takes is a couple of snowy/icy stretches to render it too dangerous to run. I hope it's on, I grew up in Helsby and have run this race every year since 2005.
It's all on roads but they're nearly all minor country roads so will not have been treated. The start-line being clear is pretty meaningless in this context, the route diverts on to minor roads after about a mile.
Phrases like "shocked" and "absolute disaster" are a bit ridiculous in the circumstances. The Asian Tsunami was an "absolute disaster", this was just a first-time race that suffered a few glitches.
I agree that the marshalls on the out-and-back section should have told runners to keep right so that flows didn't cross each other. I told them twice to do this but they didn't listen.
My only other issues were that the goody bag/medal tent was too close to the finish line and the start/finish arch was too narrow. Apart from that, if people with an agenda want to sabotage an event by removing signs then there's not much anyone can do about it. I thought it was a great attempt at a first-time race, it was excellent value at £10, the course was challenging and the goody bag was one of more generous ones. Hopefully it'll be back next year.
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Stephen Norbury
