First time running this race.

The race is a out and back with a loop at the middle. A quick sell out every year so need to be up early to get a place. Based around rural villages in York, well supported, well organised race.

With it being an anniversary year for the bonus of a medal as well as the race T-shirt 

Good race for a potential PB.

Brass Monkeys is a must for anyone wanting a New Year sharpener do blow away the Christmas richness.. Running in the beautiful York countryside the closed roads and good support is brilliant! 

Entry is tough and the nearly 6am queue lottery is the initial challenge because of how popular this race is but you have to be keen and it’s well worth it! Great post race food, drinks and a slightly massive race tshirt all added to the fun of the day.  I’ll defini be running this one again!

Organised by York Knavesmire Harriers, it's my third time of running this race, and I have to say it stands out as one of my favourite races in the calendar. Well worth waking up bleary-eyed at stupid o'clock to get in the virtual queue for the virtual queue to open. (But does it have to be so damn early in the morning?!)

I'm also aware that by writing this review I'm risking the fact that you all might decide to enter, and get in the virtual queue ahead of me in October......

After missing out last year due to not being aware of the queuing system to register I was awake nice and early to register for 2018.

Race HQ was at the Ebor stand at York Racecourse about a 20 minute walk from York train station.

Facilities there were good. Toilets, bag drop and importantly nice & warm!

The race itself starts just a few yards away from the racecourse and finishes in the grounds.

The course is flat & fast and good for PB potential.

There were 3 water stations on the course. Marshals were large in number and very supportive.

At the finish you were rewarded with a long sleeve top, water and banana.

This is a great early season race and a gives you a good indication of your form after Christmas!

Just remember to set your alarms early for registration!

The Brass Monkey Half Marathon seems to have a bit of a legendary status about it, and I've finally had the chance to see it for myself. 

Having attained a place through the defferal scheme (allowing entrants to swap their place to another runner without penalty) I can't speak for the itinal registration process, although it seems to be more difficult than running the race itself... registration opens early (around 6am), and sells our well within the hour. You've got to be keen to get a place. I was fortune to pick mine up through someone else, and after filling in a couple of web forms, his place was switched to me - very simple. Why can't more races let you do this..?! 

Pre-race is held in one of the main stands at York Racecourse, where you can also park for free. There are toilet, refreshment a bag drop facilities all under one warm roof. The toilet queues were big, and I had to wait a while so I'm glad I got there early. 

The race itself is VERY flat and therefore has the potential for quick times (I captialised on this...). It's a partial out and back with a loop between mile 4 and 9. It's nearly all out in the country side on roads around open fields other than Bishopthorpe and Appleton Roebuck villages. The local support is thin, but that's to be expected with it being an out of town race. The marshall support is terrific and lines the route at reguar intervals, mainly around road junctions. It feels safe and well managed. 

There were three water stations (miles 4, 6, 9) giving out small cups of water. More than sufficiant for a cold January day where dehydration is hardly an issue. 

After the race we were given water, juice, a banana and a long sleeve running top. Sadly mine is too small (I was given a medium which was printed on my race number when I would normally go for a large) - I don't recall being given the choice of size when registering for the event, but perhaps that's due to my place being from a swapped runner. Not a complaint in the slightlest, but just something that could be clarified for future events. 

On the whole this is a super well planned out event with a great grass roots feel. There are spaces in my running calander for the big marquee 10k and HM events with 10,000+ runners, but I think it's also important to book in these small events. No charities, no fancy dress fun runners. Just a load of people with a love for running n its simplest form giving their all on a fast course. 

Full marks - i'll be back next year (if I remember to set my alarm early enough). 

Been fortunate enough to get into this race in both 2017 and 2018 now. You have to be very committed to the idea of running this one - entries open online at 6am on a Saturday morning in October, and if you’re not in the queue ready by 5:45am, then you’re probably not getting in! There are about 1,500 places, and it sells out within the hour.

The course itself is very flat and fast, so great PB potential. It starts at York Racecourse, goes out along some country lanes, a bit of a loop and then back in along the same road. Some parts of it can get a bit boring as there’s not much in the way of scenery, but the runs through the villages (like Bishopthorpe) are very pretty! There’s also decent local support from the residents of the villages too.

The run is well-organised, with road closures in place for most of it. There were also loads of marshalls who did a great job. No medal/goodie bag at the end, but you get a nice long-sleeved running top!

2017 was my 4th year of running the Brass Monkey and my 4th PB.

Some people hate the course, claiming it's flat and boring, but I've always enjoyed the flat, fast course.

The course itself is not quite out and back (it splits for a loop after around 4 miles so is a lolipop shape), and is on often single track country roads, between small villages on the outskirts of York. I like the mix of the quiet country roads and then great local support through the villages.

It is a race aimed at faster runners. Even with my PB now just under 2.13, I'm in the last 10% of the field and the cut off is 2.45, and the start line is full of lithe runners in their club vests and short shorts despite it being January.

In previous years, the weather has been a problem. For two years it was very icy, so much so that people were having to walk black ice sections, but the race organisers now hire a gritter to solve that problem.

The other issue to note is that you need to be committed to even enter - it opens at 6am on a Saturday in the autumn and last year I had over 1,000 people in the queue before me at 6.02am.

It is definitely a race I'd do again, especially given the paucity of half marathons at that time of year.