The sun shone (and shone, and shone) on 15,000 runners at Sunday's Bristol Half Marathon, but not everyone was happy. "Very crowded for first six miles," noted Celine, touching on a topic that came up time and again in your reviews of this headline

times, facilities, standard of competition, uniqueness and value for money. Last year’s position, if any, is listed in brackets, and future dates are given if known.Although a number of important races, such as the Wilmslow and Reading half-marathons

This model may still be available on clearance. But we've reviewed a newer version since we published this.Weight 254gEvaluation Fila’s figures suggest that the Fila Racer is the best-selling racing shoe in its (admittedly small) market. We wouldn

The numbers in brackets are last year's position; the times are last year's men's and women's winning timesIf we've been given an event's details, you'll find it in the Race Diary.Another growing London Marathon event takes first place. It had a

was the Guernsey Easterrrruns. The concept of four races in four days – a 10K, a cross-country, a relay and a half-marathon – all in different parts of a welcoming island, attracted many from the mainland to the Channel Islands. Sadly, it looks as if 2001 was its

, it’s not a daily trainer, but it’s bound to be on a few marathon runners’ feet or end up as a second shoe for speedwork.Try it on if you liked Asics Gel DS Trainer (£80); Mizuno Wave Precision (£60)

example. For light, efficient runners it’s a good brisk-running shoe, but it would also serve well as a marathon racer.Try it on if you liked Puma Complete Prevail (£55); Fila Flow (£55)

Weight 290gEvaluation We last reviewed a performance training shoe called the Zoom Elite way back in 1998. Then it was a decent middle-to-long distance-racer, but didn’t quite cut it as an everyday trainer. Five years on, Nike has resurrected

should enjoy it for fast training and, despite the name, races up to marathon length.

. And most importantly, the average performance improvement by the subjects who tapered in these studies was three per cent. That could equate to as much as five to 10 minutes in a marathon. The review’s main conclusion was that, "The primary aim of the taper