This is a small local race, and is the first time I have ran it.  It is not a closed road event, but there are plenty of marshalls to control traffic where needed. The well marked out course starts of quite flat, then turns into a steady slope up hill, followed by a nice downhill section before going flat again as you run round Bathpool Park.  On leaving the pool you then reverse the route and the nice downhill turns into a steep uphill!, but thankfully a steady downhill follows, which leads to Clough Park and the finish line. A nice quality medal is received along with a bottle of water.  You can instantly get both your Gun and Chip times from the timing van parked just outside the park.

Overall a great race and one I will defiantly run again

Kidsgrove 10k.
Not the best of days to be out racing. The rain was initially pouring down but fortunately as the start time got nearer it did actually clear up.
Registration was very swift and easy in the school sports hall. Queues for the Gents toilets were horrendous as there were only two cubicles available. Thankfully and very much appreciated, the caretaker  opened up another section of the school that had plenty of toilets and so cleared the backlog. Very grateful to him for doing that.
The start was in the school grounds and after a quick briefing about roads and what to do with water bottles we were on our way. The first race was for men only. Never done a male only type of race before so was interested to see how things would pan out.
There were pacers for 40 mins up to 60 mins, all of whom did a grand job.
The course was very undulating, with a lovely flat section along the resevoir. Plenty of puddles and mud it has to be said. Once you're wet\muddy you don't care anymore and just end up splashing your way through them all lol.
Marshalls were all very supportive and did well controlling the traffic were required. Plenty of other support out and about en route too which was very welcome.
Into the last 2km and we ran up what was the steepest part of the course. When your legs are tired and you just want to finish to be presented with a seemingly never ending hill ahead of you is quite disheartening. Many I overtook were walking but I was determined not to give in to it! Even if I ran at a snails pace I was not going to walk. Once at the top it was a lovely gradual downhill back to the main road before running into Clough Hall Park. The finish was at the opposite side of the park so you could see it, hear and smell that finish line. It gave me that boost that I needed to push on to the end.
Stopped my watch and realised I'd done better than i'd anticipated. I had hoped to run with Ash to finish around 50 mins but I seemed way behind him so was surprised when my watch said I'd managed under 50 mins! Result!
This isn't the easiest of courses and that hill towards the end is a real killer but overall I did actually enjoy it. Running with just blokes seemed okay too. I wonder how the ladies felt about their race?
The medal at the end was very nice, great ribbon and design. Great organisation, thanks Mick Hall. Would definately recommend for next year.

A great local race- perfect to get the year started. Brilliant local support and marshalling. 

Gold events are a well organised local company- well done all. 

Weather played havoc hence the safety score but race directors made sensible, practical decisions. 

Love the cowbell & buff memento. 

The first mile of this race was one of the hardest I've done. Mainly because of the sleet blowing in my face and not being able to see properly.

Registration was easy and smooth. The parking was ok too, I just parked on the road nearby.

I was a little confused where the start line would be when I arrived but just followed all the other runners.

The course was quite nice to run, especially the first park you enter. There is also quite a bit of road running so you had to watch out for traffic. The marshalls did very well in controlling it though.

It was very slippery out as the conditions went downhill fast. Again the marshalls pointed out any particular areas that were very slippery.

It's a nice finish in the park and there was only one occasion where I was unsure of the route.

Overall a nice little event and good value for the entry fee. Medal was made out of rubber which I've not seen before and the mug was a nice little addition.