First and foremost, this is a lovely setting for a triathlon. Would be great to take the family and have a post race picnic or meal in town. Event venue is located in parkland, right next to the river in the heart of Marlow. Car parking is literally only a few steps from registration. Capacity was likely reduced due to COVID restrictions which meant that queues at registration and entry to transition were well contained. Directions to start and around transition all very clear. River swim was 2 laps so you get upstream and downstream effects. Bike course has a few hills but mostly flat and fast with great scenery. Roads were open with one small annoyance of a temporary traffic light, otherwise not a lot of traffic. Run route takes you along the river and around fields with a mixture of road, trail and grass. Overall a very relaxed atmosphere with participants happy to be racing again. Results were accurate and available same day. I will be returning myself and recommend this course for all levels.

My main concern with this race was that we were instructed there would be no registration on the day, and that it needed to be done on the Saturday afternoon.  This took a large chunk out of my Saturday as I didn't have access to the car, and had to travel there via London.  

Parking on the day was easy to find, and cost £5, and very close to the start/finish area.  

The start area is compact, fairly well laid out.  There weren't many toilets, but to be fair, queues were fairly small.  Waves were starting at different times, with the half-iron going early.  It's probably due to numbers in the water, but the sprint wave went off before us.  It would have been better (at least on the bike leg) for us to go earlier to avoid some of the traffic. 

The swim route had been changed by the water marshals, which was fine (four short laps).  There wasn't too much current and the water temperature was quite warm. 

There's a short jog across grass to the transition, where you pick up the bike, and head out to the road leading to the exit, then head on the main road to Henley and then turn towards up a long drag towards Nettlebed.  There was a reasonable amount of traffic, but to be fair, the drivers were pretty good (at least to me).  There's a short climb at the start which I found hard, and the road to Nettlebed is up but steady.  The first part is hard as there's corrugations on the road every 10 metres or so.  

At Nettlebed, you do a 180 degree turn on the roundabout and are joined by half-iron cyclists.  The descent on the dual carriageway is good, fast and smooth with plenty of room.  Both roundabouts were marshalled, along with a motorbike waiting along the road and a temporary traffic signal (could not be avoided, but if stopped 30 seconds taken from time).  It was a very wet, windy day and very difficult to avoid puddles (with potentially hidden potholes) at times.

Back into transition, you pass a water station on the way out.  It's a nice run, initially along the Thames, then back through some paths, and then through a quiet housing estate.  There were marshals at important points and a feed station (gels, water) nearer the end.  The course was well signposted.  

It wasn't a massively busy event, so quite relaxed, around the hub.  There were a few food vans.  There wasn't much local support, but as there was a lot of horizontal rain, it wasn't surprising! 

All in all, it's a small decently organised event.  I'm not sure if I'd do it again as I didn't like to travel to pick up my things the day before (only took a few moments), and I'd prefer to be out on the main roads earlier.

I did this as part of a team, I did the swim. Great swim (fab bit of the Thames, doesn't feel dirty) and easy to navigate in the water. Slightly hard to get in and out of the water but not too bad. Organisers are lovely and there'a a great atmosphere at the race. Fab race for clubs to enter multiple teams and there's lots of room if you wanted to put up a team tent etc. Fab medals too! 

As a team we entered 7 Realy teams (6 Olympic distance and 1 Sprint) to the event.

With 20+ people in tow covering various legs there was always support as we raced teams into the top 3 positions.

A great course with lovely river swim, challenging (and rough roads) cyle course but the epic decent from Nettlebed back to Henley is well worth it and the final run route quiet and easy to navigate.

The team at F3Events were superb as always and allowed us to pitch a Gazebo and all our geat right next to the transition and Finish line.

We were by far the loudest cheering team there and all had amazing results and a very enjoyable day.

F3 have been using the lovely Higginson Park by the Thames in Marlow for several years but this is launch year for the new brand of 'The Fugitive', with the main focus on a middle-distance race, plus a sprint, standard and various distance swim events up to 3K. The site helps to make this event special and it's especially conveniently located in leafy Bucks close to the M4. As it's municipal parkland, with a sports centre nearby in case showers are wanted, it's always been well drained, mown and sheltered in my experience. Car parking is right next to the compact registration and start/finish area, which reduces stress and means it's an easy few strides back to the car to sort yourself or bits of kit out. The vibe is always good at F3 Events, with genial staff and volunteers, commentary and music. Several food and promotional stalls and pre/post-race massage all help maintain the leisurely atmosphere, and on this occasion the large numbers of competitors in the middle-distance event were well supported by vocal friends and family enjoying the high summer sunshine. The swim is in the limpid and scenic Thames, in usually pleasant enough waters with little current and banked by grand houses. The 24K bike course on the sprint is an out-and-back route along the usually fairly quiet A4155 to Henley; apart from an initial/final big hill, it's mostly flat but the surface has seen better days and needs a bit of care. The run is then along the towpath to a private road back up the valley side and back down into Marlow: a 5K loop that is repeated for the longer events, making for plenty of sightings for supporters. This is the kind of race that welcomes novices but with enough terrain interest and competition to keep top club triathletes and even elites happy -- and the last of these can often be seen at F3 Events. Perhaps another one or two marshals around the middle of the run course would have helped keep spirits up and acted as a backstop, and after the initial middle-distance start there were a couple of delays, but in general this is a very well recommended event. The considerate motorcyle referee/patroller was a welcome feature.