This was the first ever semi-trail race I have every done so didn't know what to expect.

Registration and start: 

At the local football club.  Very simple - picked up number, no queues at all.  Toilets were proper ones in the sports club, that was a real bonus! Race briefing okay - all a bit quick though, I don't think they explained the course that well to be honest.

Race:  Started quite nicely around the streets of Chislehurst.  After 3 miles had to run up the A20 - pretty horrible but thankfully only for about 1 mile.  After this point very beautiful.  It turned into proper trail, single track etc.  Had to slow down but got to enjoy countryside views. 3 loops were ran which was okay, although i got lost just before mile 11 - up to that point all was very clear.  I waited for the person behind me, fortunately they knew route.  Back on main road again which was not great as traffic was getting busy and those fumes were tough to inhale. It was a really hot day too which didn't help.

Finish back at football club, nice medal, easy to get out of car park too.

I wouldn't do this again on current route, as I found the road running element really unpleasant.  I wish they could rethink that bit of the course as I might reconsider.

As in most races, volunteers were really excellent and supportive.  One of my slowest half mara's but i fully expected that given terrain.

After last year's unfortunate incident involving a lack of arrows telling people which way to go, all I was thinking about was the Snoop Dog and JT song 'Signs'.  I quite liked the race, but was seriously put off by what happened last year.  Being lost again in the woods was something I did not fancy, but thought I would sign up to support a local race one more time and see if last year was a one off.

I arrived at race HQ at Glebe Football Club, got my car parked and made my way to the registration area.  I picked up my number with no issues, but the bag drop wasn't well signposted at all.  After walking around the clubhouse looking for where to go, I conceded defeat and asked for assistance.

"Up and around the corner mate!" I was told, but even walking in the direction of the marshal's extended index finger, I still couldn't find it.  After sticking my head in numerous changing rooms, I finally found it, dropped my bag off and made my way to the start line.

The people at the front of the start line with me were familiar and after having a quick chat discovered that a number of these were also part of last year's lost expedition.  After a quick de-brief which genuinely consisted of "you know the normal health and safety bits and follow the arrows, not the person in front of you" we were away!

We left Glebe and made our way along the 'A' road and towards the Common. Regardless to last year's issues, Chislehurst really is a lovely part of London/Kent and even the local houses have a lovely charm to them.

Once in and around the Common I maintained my pace and was comfortably in the top 20. One thing that did slow us down a bit was the narrow trail routes and those walking their dogs in the opposite direction of the runners.  After side stepping a golden retriever, I made my way out of the woods and trails and on to the side of the major 'A' road.  This bit was tough as although it wasn't particularly steep, it did go on for quite a way and the gradient did have a noticeable incline.  At the top I took the handbrake off and bombed down back toward the woodlands.

The crowd support was subtle but nice, and there is a middle section of the race which you pass through a number of times.  There didn't seem to be a large number of aid stations, but all of these were sufficiently stocked up with water and there were people standing around with jelly babies too.

As I say, the route is very nice, although there is a bit of backwards and forwards and running in the opposite direction to those behind you but on the same pavement. There arent any barriers separating the crossing runners so I found my pace slowing down as I was trying to weave in and out of other people who were in my path.

After a final loop of Chislehurst Common, we made our way back on the underpasses under the 'A' road and back towards the start line which was now acting as the finish.

I bombed down the last .1 mile stretch and was handed a silver medal for my efforts. The medal allocation was gold for the top 10, silver for places 10-30 and bronze for the finishers after that. I was delighted with the medal because although this meant I had a top 30 finish, it was a bit of redemption from last year when I was in a silver medal position only for me to lose it due to a wrongly placed sign (which I heard a different excuse for today).

I went back into the clubhouse and after checking in with two members of the Avery Fan Club (Dad and uncle Tony) I checked the printed times to see I finished in 18th place overall with a 1:31:32.  Normally I would be slightly disappointed with a half over 90 minutes, but this was a different terrain to road running and there were lots of running backwards and forwards against the flow over other runners.

Conclusion: This race has got a LOT better and I would recommend it now there are signs showing the right way. There are still a few teething problems, but they will sort this out with more races and more experience.

Would I come back next year?  More than likely!

it was a last moment decision to run this race only registered on Monday last week. Received race instructions and felt confident of the format. Arrived in good time and parked at the venue. Short walk across the field to race registration to find race number and collect bib. Wondered round to find the toilets to stand in the queue and then be redirected to more toilets to avoid queuing. Friendly marshalls stop for a toilet queue chat. All very pleasant. There was a warm up conducted by the insite gym which despite not taking part in seemed very good. A race briefing which as ever you can't really hear as everyone is talking. Then a word from the charity the race is supporting which was a nice touch. We were off. First section was road and I wondered if wearing my inov8 trail shoes would come and bite me at some point, but we were quickly off-road in the nature reserve. The race had put white chalk around every possible trip r slip hazard which was lovely but also made me chuckle, drains, tree branches, steps, slight deviation in ground etc. There were so many marshalls who gave full in depth instructions if the section coming up, all smiling and clearly wanted to be there. Heroes of the day in my book. There were ample drink stops. My only down point was the laps around one section of the reserve which made me stop and ask as I was getting confused. The band in the underpass of the dual carriageway was lovely perhaps they can give Milton Keynes some tips on making the concrete sections better. The finish of the race was good with lots of people cheering you over the line and it was a nice touch than the maypole charity spokesman was out on the course cheering us on too. As you finished you got your medal and water and banana and some cheery marshals to ask if you enjoyed yourself. The bar was open for people to sit and enjoy the atmosphere and there were massages being done. All in all I walked away from that race having really enjoyed it. My running app however did clock 14.2 miles

Well the day did not start well for me, left my kit bag with all my gels and my drinks at home, so pre-race it was a mad dash to get a couple of bottles of lucozade to keep my carb levels topped up during the race.

We got parked up and made the short walk to Glebe Football Club, where we were met with a beautiful sunny day and a really friendly atmosphere. "Race registration is next door!" We were told, "check your name on the list and what number you are to help us out!" It seemed a reasonable request, I found my number next to my name and joined the queue. "147, Avery" I said to the woman handing out my number "147? Down there, you're in the wrong queue!" The weird thing was though, I didn't see any signs indicating different queues, but I obliged and got my number.

After the pre-race warm up, we all made our way to the start line where we were given our brief, which consisted of "have a good race, it's PB weather and conditions and be careful of the rabbit holes, we tried fill them in with flour but you might fall down them." We didn't mind, this was trail running after all.

3-2-1 and we were off! I was with the first 10-15 runners and we set off at a good, fast pace. The first few miles were nothing special and I chuckled as we ran along an A road and an underpass. Was I back in Milton Keynes?...

The race then took a detour into the woods and the scenery was beautiful, running in woodlands, jumping over streams, ducking under low branches and running alongside fields with horses and other animals in them. Trail running really is something totally different to road running and the natural sights around were stunning.

I was maintaining my pace well and although running at a pace which wouldn't trouble the leaders, I was happy with how I was running and felt a top 20 finish was more than achievable for me.

Then disaster struck for all of us just after 6 miles. We were shown which way to go by marahals, followed the arrows, ran out the woods and then BANG! Nothing. Not a single sign, marshal or arrow telling us where we needed to go. Nothing, nada and no crowd supporters we could see in the distance. We were lost and off route, our group of 25 runners were then joined by around 10 more.... then 10 more. This race had become a total stand still for around 5 minutes.

"let's go this way!"

"no that's not the right way!"

"they've changed the route so it's a bit different"

"let's try this way."

An absolute shambles.

We all went back into the woods and agreed to try and honour the order so that the leader wasn't unfairly right at the back. Back in the woods and after a few paces we realised we were lost again.

"hang on" said one female runner "I'll have to get the map out". So we all huddled around her as she logged onto the race website and got a map up. Exactly what happens at every half marathon...

We still had no real concept of where we were so decided to aim back towards a road and head back to the start to inform the organisers. After running for around a mile, we found our way back on the course, but back at the 10km mark and was miles back down the field. Many of these people who were now in front of us were originally miles behind and I was playing catch up to try and make up my time and position. This race was now becoming a long, demoralising and downbeat slog. After running around a bit more woodland in a foul mood and trying to make up a position I unfairly lost, I reigned it in for the last two miles and saw it as nothing more than a long training run.

Normally when I finish a race, I punch the air for photographers, high 5 people, do something silly but today was not one of these days. I was not really in the mood so just wanted to cross the finish line. 1:41:39 and a 48th position. I was gutted, I have hit the wall before and have ran poorly in the past but this was a new level of annoyance. To drop down the field and finish with that time due to nothing I had done was a bitter pill to swallow and the normal medal biting picture I take post-race was not to be taken today.

Positives from today: the weather was nice, the course was beautiful and the marshals were friendly and energising. Nice medal too and the pre-race atmosphere was very friendly.

Negatives from today: the organisation which caused the front pack to get horrendously lost. The lack of acknowledgement that the organisers had made a mistake "well you must've missed the sign" yeah mate, like 50 people running sporadically with numerous minutes in between each other will all miss this sign. The fact I nearly got hit by a car twice due to marshals stood in the wrong place also needed to be addressed.

Conclusion: It's a shame one huge, massive gaff has ruined what was a lovely little trail half marathon. Let's see what next year has to offer.

PS One of the people who beat me on paper was a man and a dog.