Having run this event a few times now I can definitely say was the best organised GER I’ve done!! No queues for toilets, baggage or collecting T-shirts. I was in the red pen (2nd wave) and it was really well signed and directed by the Marshalls. Finish area was also brilliant with no crowding. The only thing for improvement would be that the goodie bags didn’t have much in them but the bags were massive. Smaller bags or a few more goodies would be good next year. Really well done on organising a fantastic event!! 🙌

This was my second time running the Great Eastern Half Marathon, having last done it in 2022. I remembered really enjoying it last time, so it was disappointing that the organisation let the experience down a little this year. I'm not sure if the event has become more popular since 2022, but the parking situation was horrendous, with lots of us rushing from our cars to the start line. The new coloured bib system added to the stress, as the signage for finding the correct pens wasn't clear. Once in the pens, it was really difficult to find the pacer you wanted, meaning I ended up running in a congested group with people going slower than I'd planned for the first few kilometres. I much preferred being able to choose your own pen based on your target finish time, especially as this can change between entering and race day. Being unable to move up a colour also felt unfair if you wanted to start with a faster pacer. All the rushing around and confusion made the start feel really overwhelming, which is a shame as it put a downer on my experience. That said, the course itself was great, with a really supportive crowd and good water stations throughout. The only other downside was that the finish area made it a little difficult to find family afterwards. Overall, it's a lovely atmosphere, and I really enjoyed the course, but I think the starting organisation needs a rethink to make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.

I have run VERY many races, including lots of half marathons. This had by far THE BEST ever toilets. The block arrangement rather than a long, long line worked well, but what made it work was that there were many staff guiding people to blocks which had shorter queues and advising men to use the urinals rather than a cubicle. It was lovely to have female only loos (I'm afraid mixed ones generally mean wee all over the floor and seat), with plenty of loo roll, & sanitary stuff. I used them once before and once after the race and both times were perfect. Please do not increase the number of participants (see Cambridge....) as you will lose the efficiency of bag drop/collect, filtering to the start and general congestion at event village. It's perfect as it is. My only suggestion would be to put on a park and ride for runners outside of the town, or list car parks which are outside the road closures so runners don't get stuck inside when they want to drive home. Marshals were supportive. I didn't have any water, but I could see the stations were well manned. I loved the finish through the Cathedral.

Everything was excellent. The toilets were really plentiful and queues very short, plenty of volunteers at the water stations handing out water, medal was nice as usual plus a shoe bag with goodies inside. The start was among the best of any race: runners went into pens according to their estimated times and the pens were released one by one. There was no congestion. All in all, that is how a race should be organised! Done this 3 times now and will probably be back next year, though I did say never again, to doing a half marathon again that is, but I finally got that PB. It’s a fast course.

The race guide was inaccurate in places and appeared to be a cut and paste from previous years and filled with adverts. The opening paragraph referred to the race coming back after a break of 4 years, which was obviously wrong and unprofessional. On the way to the event Boongate was closed at the junction of the A1139 despite this not being on the list of road closures. This made it impossible to access Wellington Street car park despite it being on the list of car parks in the race guide. Marshalls at Road closures could not explain the closure or provide any alternative route to the car park. The starting pens were a bit confusing and not adequately signposted. When I finished there was nobody in the finishing area checking runners were ok or providing any information about where to go to get medals engraved, buy finishers T-shirts etc. otherwise, ok.