Very well organized with plenty of food and water The Local community were amazing, Some young boys were giving out biscuits and people left Drinks and biscuits along the route, One very kind person left a hose running for everyone to use to cool down. Truly amazing Support staff were great they helped my friend When he needed it. Would recommend to anyone who loves a challenge

This was the first ultra I have completed.  I went for the 100km over two days.  Commuication prior to the event was ok, I was wondering on how good it was going to be organised, and how/what was going to be at the different rest stops.

Arrived Friday evening to collect my number and that was easy and simple, had it explained to me how my lanyard worked, the map and rest stop leaflet with emergency contact telephone numbers, and given my buff.

Saturday mornign arrived, and at my allocated start time we were hurded into a start pen, given a brief briefing, and a awkward warm up routine!  Then we were off, it was going to be a hot day, but it just got hotter and hotter, the route was so well marked out, I did'nt need to get my map out once throughout the two days, marker arrows every few hundred meters.

Day 1 apart from being hot was good, the rest stops were well stocked, the first one had pastries and snacks and drinks, the second had sadwiches, cold cans, crisps and fruit, the third had a pick n mix drinks, and snack (and a water sprinkler), and the fourth had hot food.  At major roads there were marshals to make sure we crossed safely.  It was extremely hot, and hard work.

Day 2 started off cooler, but the rest stops were not so well stocked, the first one, had a few sandwiches, drinks and snacks, no pastries like on day 1, the second, had plenty of pizzas and other hot food, could of done with a cold can, and an apple to take with me, the third was almost non existent, I know it was not far from the finish, and when I crossed the finish line, a medal was put around my neck, a glass of bubbly shoved in my hand, and then I was given a non technical t-shirt - so disapointed that it is just a normal tshirt, as I'm not going to be able to show it off when I go out running now - to say that I completed it.

I did also feel sorry for those that were finishing after me, as they were starting to pack up the finish, even though they had another two hours to go until the final cut off.  I do hope that those that finished still felt valued and were able to get some food etc.

All in all a well organised event, they can't help the weather being too hot, rest stops were good at the start but deterioted as the route went on.  Don't expect to enter this event and think you are going to walk it all on the Cotswold Way, as you are not, there were quite a few deveations.  

On arrival at each rest stop my lanyard was scanned, and shortly after my phone would bleep and the app would say that I had arrived with my time on and position, however I was not scanned when I left, so after the first rest stop, it was unclear how long I had actualy taken as I would need to factor in the time at each rest stops.

Also its not the most scenic of routes, a lot of field after fields, and endless tracks through woods - now that might just be me as I live in the country, but I was looking foward to looking out over the scenery and seeing for miles into the distance.

A few days before the race we got an email to say because of the weather forecast we would need to carry 2l water - double what I was panning to carry and what I had trained with. So I bought a bladder to go with my two soft flasks. Carrying an extra kilo turned out to be completely unnecessary and just made the race more difficult. Possibly the walkers would have needed it but not the runners - there were aid stations or water stations about every 10k and there are pubs en route in case of emergency too. I found it difficult before this race to get information on what food would be provided at aid stations. I needed vegan food. I emailed and was provided with a lousy of food provided at the London to Brighton race - it was still hard to tell what from that was vegan. Unfortunately my fears were well founded. At the 50km meal stop I asked about vegan food and the boy serving didn't seem to know what that even meant. There was a vegetarian pasta but he was unable to tell me if it was suitable for vegans. He offered me a vegetable casserole, I lifted the lid to see what was inside but it was empty. He said if I waited 20 minutes the cook would heat some up. But he couldn't tell me what vegetable casserole was. It just sounded like hot vegetables to me and I was in the middle of a race - 20 minute wait for food? No thanks! Also if there's a vegetarian pasta option how hard would it be to make that vegan? Or if it's already vegan, provide information to confirm that! I pulled out with injury at 64km (no thanks to the extra water I had to carry) and got the shuttle to the finish, where at least a hot meal would be waiting for me, right? WRONG. I asked about vegan food and the lad at the counter pointed me in the direction of a vegetarian lasagne, covered in cheese. I would say if you are on any kind of special diet or have an allergy, avoid this race as staff have no knowledge and cannot advise whether food is suitable.

This was my first 100km and I'm glad it was because it was extremely well-marked and every aid station had medical and loads of supplies.

It's a mix of trail and road, with some lovely views, and very up and down. The start and finish were in accessible places and the race brief was really thorough. I had volunteers looking me in the eyes at aid stations and asking how I was, they were brilliant.

I only marked down on;

• Local support - it's a national trail, so there were ramblers cheering us on, but other than that, no one was about. And only about three people (volunteers) cheered me into the finish, but - like I said - it's a walking event mainly and they were all behind me.
• Course uniqueness - there's loads of races on the Cotswold Way, in fact there were two others on this day! For good reason though.
• Value for money - it's an expensive race, but you can definitely see where the money goes, worth it, especially if it'll be your only 100km.
• Registration - I registered using a coupon that my friend had from signing up, and there was a bit f confusion over it. All good in the end though.