Plenty of parking available within the race course inner zone and great pre race facilities

Race starts on the "grid" for cars and there's plenty of space, friends had said it was boring doing 6 laps but I found it it fine, the weather was nice and scenery OK. I enjoyed working out the best running lines as the course was banked with the odd steep hill thrown in! Laps 5 and 6 get hectic with slower/quicker runners lap one another but it all adds to the unique features

Race finishes in the pit lane but I found it a bit small and slightly underwhelming

One runner came in a bit distressed and the assistance seemed slow

The venue is not accessible by public transport and accordingly the support is sparse 

An early season event at the end of February that I’d planned to use as a taster for HMs and 70.3s later in the year. The HM course consists of six laps of the race track. It’s slightly repetitive but at least you get used to the course and can pace yourself well. 

The event was very well organised - registration was simple (on the day) and there was ample car parking close to the start and finish line. That said, the weather was cold which led to many DNSs on the day. 

We assembled at the start line around 15 mins  before the 12:30 start and there was a short briefing. 

There was a water station each lap (just after the start line) and the kids who manned it ensured everyone could get water. On a HM, gels would have been appreciated but I knew that these weren’t provided so brought my own as did many others. 

There were numerous pacers who were all friendly and kept runners in high spirits. 

Finishers received a t-shirt and medal, along with a couple of protein sachets. There was also bananas and jelly babies at the end. Value for money was good overall (although I had obtained a discount). 

The event was fairly well supported for a cold February day but it is a large circuit so don’t expect to see many supporters along the route. The course itself is located in fairly picturesque countryside which makes for a pleasant event. 

In terms of feedback points, it would have been helpful to have placed litter bins (for used gels) on the course - I didn’t see any so was reluctantly forced to discard these on the floor. 

Decided on doing this event as a weekend getaway with the family from London (they didn’t make it as daughter was ill) and I was reeled in with the £20 entry offer for those also doing the Manchester Marathon in April which I thought was a decent offer.

There is no problem at all regarding parking with loads on offer in the huge car park and collecting the bib number on the day was easy enough in the chequers restaurant.

Being a racetrack location in the middle of nowhere in the cold weather, the local support was always going to be next to nothing which it was. Fair play to the ones that were obviously there with runners but they were cheering everyone else on.

It was a 6 lap course in nice surroundings with water in cups at the end of each lap being dished out by the local scouts (I think).

Because of the size of the track overcrowding was never going to be an issue so it was very spacious for everyone which was good.

There were 2/3 hills per lap which by about the 4th I started to struggle with due to my weak Achilles/calf so this was never going to be a PB course for me.

There were hardly any Marshall’s around so props to the great job the pacers were doing keeping everyone happy and encouraged.

The T-shirt and medal were decent and the podium to have a photo opportunity on was a good addition. Because there were giveaways either side in the tunnel at the end I missed the T-shirt so had to go back for that and also never realised I could’ve got a print out of my finish time. This maybe could’ve been explained by a Marshall around this area if there was one. The other thing was that the finish seemed just over 200m extra over the half marathon distance which is a bit frustrating.

Still an overall good event which for anyone living local would work out good value for money especially if doubling up with Manchester marathon and getting the £20 deal

I did this race last year and the 6 laps did start to get boring after lap 4 but with an offer of less than £20 I decided to run again this year. I stuck with the 2hr pacer and another runner as we knew each other and treated it as a practice run for my marathon in April. This year was more enjoyable to run with company and the laps seem to not matter as much this time around. 

Registration was simple with bib number collected on the day. There was no race briefing at all either before or after we entered the racetrack. No mile markers either although I had my watch so knew where we were up too. One water station just after the start finish line was fine with me but maybe more to offer than water would be better for others. Only support we had was for 100yards along the finish line every lap, no marshalls at all anywhere on the course which I think was disappointing and when one runner collapsed 30yards from the finish line not one Marshall/first aider came to his rescue, it took myself and another runner (Ash) to jump over the barrier as we had already finished and help the runner over the line. Single Marshall at the finish was more interested in getting runners who had finished to move out of the way rather than see what was happening and helping another runner who was struggling. Even a few mins later the runner was still leaning onto the wall after the finish line but no one was there to help him. What if he had collapsed half way round the lap? Nearest Marshall would of been a mile away.

Not sure I would run this event again as I’ve done it twice now and 6 laps is quite a bit of a chore towards the end of the race

Easy registration & communications before the race- but did need to pick numbers up on the day. 

Small field of runners with gave it a nice atmosphere at the beginning as space and time to mingle. 

6 Laps of a 2.2 mile course - making it slightly over the HM distance. Annoying if you were on for a PB. 

PACERS provided and they were amazing, recalculating the pace each lap as there were no mile markers. 

Interesting course as it’s a race circuit- different to a road race but after 4 Laos it got a bit dull. Only support was from runners & friends & family. 

Nice tshirt on completing- a generic ASICS medal. Not anything unique. A banana & water on completing. 

One thing for organisers - marshals at finishing tunnel need to be awake. A gent collapsed 20 m from end and non moved. It took 2 runners to jump the barrier to help him.