Chippenham is local to me and 10 mile races are few and far between, plus it was the first race in the Wiltshire Road race league for 2019. 

Logistically there was plenty of parking at Stanley Park as well as a school just across the road, race packs were easily collected on the day and there were plenty of portaloos available as well. For those so inclined there was a group warm up just before the race briefing although there were plenty of places you could also warm up separately.

Good Friday this year ended up being quite warm which took a lot of runners, and the event team by surprise. Unfortunately the second water station was running out of water by the time I reached it meaning only one small half cup of water was available. We were told more water was coming however this wouldn’t be of much help to us. We also heard one of the marshals say that all runners should have been carrying water bottles anyway! Perhaps we should have done but there also should have been adequate water available at the aid stations. Thankfully a cyclist passed me and my friend about 10 minutes later and kindly offered us water from one of his water bottles. 

The race was chip timed and all finishers also received an Easter egg as well as an Easter Bunny themed medal. For me the heat played a huge factor in my enjoyment of the race, it was a very well out together event however not having enough water available wasn’t great. 

I missed entering this race in 2017 but made sure I definitely entered it before it sold out this year. 

The route is fairly local to me and nice to find a race that is more than a 10k but without having to decide if I'm up for a half marathon. 

From start to finish this was a fun, friendly and incredibly well organised race. Registration was easy and you were given everything you could possibly need in an envelope from race number to timing chip to safety pins. 

Warm up was fun and on astro turf so no muddy grass before you got going. 

The race start was busy but there were 500 people all fighting to get out one narrowish road but as a chipped race it wasn't really a problem. 

The route was mostly marked out by marshals who were all friendly and supportive, there was minimal local support but it rained nonstop from registration to taking down the finishing flags hours later so I don't really blame the locals for staying indoors but some ventured out and some had a table full of jelly babies set up - of which I was pretty grateful. 

On finishing your chip was removed and you got a medal and could pick your Easter egg - awesome. You could also get a print out of your time which was a fab bonus. 

I'd definitely recommend and will definitely enter again in 2019. 

Cadence events looked very professional at race HQ. Everything was well sign posted and all the staff were extremely friendly and helpful. 

Pros: great HQ facility at Stanley Park with ample parking and clean toilets, chip timing with instant results at the end, coffee van, decent sized Easter egg as a prize, cute bunny medal, decent photographer, quiet country roads that were generally quite flat with some undulations, fun warm up and a race briefing that everyone could hear. 

Cons: no baggage facility, only 2 water stations (same one that you pass twice) and no jelly babies or similar, long queues at registration, a bit over priced compared to the Devizes half that I did on Sunday which is the same price and it's an 'out and back' route which could put people off but it is nice to get encouragement from the faster runners when they're on the way back.

All in all, a good first running of this event with just a few tweaks to make it perfect.