This event has 3 distances 8.5, 16 and 20miles and is ideally placed in the calendar to use a training run for a spring Marahon.

The course is up to 3 and a bit laps for the 20 miler and starts in the centre of Kingston heading out along the Thames then through a road section and then back along the Thames each lap.

The race is NOT run of closed roads so there were points you had to wait for traffic but marshalls were in place at all road crossing.

The atmosphere at the finish was good with some crowd support here and the goody bag was great. Being sponsored by Lidl you didnt get a shirt or medal but did get a mug and a bag full of Lidl goodies! (food)

This is one of the most well-marshalled events I have taken part in so far - I felt very well looked after.  There was loads of signage along the route, which was lovely and flat  :-)

All participants are made to feel like superstars at the finish (no matter what distance they've done - there were 3 options) and the race village is friendly and vibrant.

Parking was a bit tricky on arrival - leave plenty of time so you don't have to forego the vital last trip to the portaloos!!

This was the first time I had taken part in this event, and I was asked by the event organisors, Human Race, to be  pacer for the 16.2 mile run. There are three distances on offer on the day, 8.2, 16.2 and 20.1 miles, the latter two distances being ideal for those preparing for spring marathons.

Reporting for duty at 07.15am meant a very early start for myself, a 2 hour trip from home, which was made a little more difficult when I remembered mid way through the week leading up to the day that the clocks were moving forward!

After being issued with our t-shirts and pacer flags, I had a little time to kill, the 20.1 mile runners were to start first at 8am, so a coffee with fellow pacer Paul Addicott and his family was very welcome as it was a bit chilly that early in the day. At 08.30am the 8.2 and 16.2 mile runners were on the start line and ready to go. we went off in well staged waves, lead by the pacers running even mile splits from 8min per mile to 12 mins. I was doing the 11 min pace so had a short wait to lead off my group.

The course was a two lap, 8.1 mile loop, croosing the River Thames twice at Kingston and Hampton, and passing through Kingston centre and past Hampton Court Palace. For most of the way the route was off road, but there were a few areas where we were running on open roads with live traffic, but on the whole safety was foremost and plentifull marshalls kept runners and traffic apart. Just one rather tricky area under a road bridge where the path was very narrow and required runners to pass in single file caused some issues, but this quickly opened up again and the bootlenecks eased.

At the completion of the first lap, the 8.2 mile runners crossed the finish line whilst the 16.2 mile runners, who had now been joined with some of the later 20.1 mile runners, continued out for a second loop.

There were aid stations positioned at 3 points on each loop offering water and energy drinks, in cups which isn't always the easiest to drink from whilst running, and also SIS gels on offer if needed. First aid cover was offered through medics on bikes at regular intervals, and thankfully I did not see any of them being asked to attand runners.

On completion of the runs, a specailly commisioned finishers mug was handed to you as soon as you crossed the chip timimg mat, I heard afterwards that some runners did not get a mug as the organisors had not ordered enough to cover the amount of runners, but to their credit they promised to send them out to anybody who missed out. We were also presented with a fantatsic, tote shopping bag filled with loads of goodies from race sponsors Lidl supermarkets.

After a chilly start, the weather was perfect for running, and it was really enjoyable running along the Thames in the sunshine, well before most people had even thought about getting out of bed and celebrating Mothers Day. Certainly one for the list for 2018.

I have taken part in this event a few times before, but 2017 is the first time as a pacer. I was asked by Human Race to be one of the pacers, and was happy to finally be able to pace this event for them. As this event fell on Mother's Day I had to ask permission from my wife and she was happy for me to do it. It was an early start with a 8:30 start, and I chose the shortest distance to have minimal impact on the day. I paced 8.2 miles at 8 minute miles, so that's just 65 minutes.

I only realised a few days before that this also clashes with the clocks going forward, so not the best of starts, getting the wife and kids up extra early to come to the start with me.

This event has 8.2,16.2 and 20.2 distances and is a great warm up for many spring events, which clearly a lot of runners were using this as. The start is in waves which was good, especially as there are some narrow sections. So we started based on pace waves, 6 min miles to 12 min miles, about 10 seconds apart just to give a brief gap.

The course is 8 mile laps, so I just did one lap. Mostly it is a lovely route along the Thames path trail. The middle section however takes us on to narrow roads, the roads are open and this slowed us at places, especially under a bridge where a marshal shouted at us to go single file (almost grinding us to a stop). This was however short lived and the rest of the route was good. The marshals were great on the whole and stopped traffic preventing us been stopped by hazards.

The spectators were limited, and aid stations provided water in cups which was. I good for me, although I didn't need on one lap. If I was running faster and further this would have been an issue for me.

As always the goody bad from LIDL was really impressive and we received the traditional cup rather than medal.

This is a cheap race and a good option for a pre marathon or Half warm up.

Find out more about my experience as a pacer here 

https://pickupthepacepaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/26/lidl-kingston-breakfast-run/

Paced this race at 12min/mi for the 8.2 mile event. Enjoyed the day. Some slight improvements to be had about the number of pacing flags on offer making pacers tricky to identify as well as the bag drop (no baggage tags on race numbers meant the volunteers were inundated and races started late).

That said, great course in the main, friendly marshals and some good crowd support towards the finish. Nice mug, which makes a change from medals, and a cracking goody bag. Look forward to pacing this again - really enjoyed the day!

This is the first time I've run this race and throroughly enjoyed it! They're are 3 distance options 8, 16 and 20 miles - the longer option being a staple for spring marathon runners looking for a tune-up before tackling 26.2 miles. In summary my experiences were:

+ve

• Excellent value for money, especially when so many half-marathons are charging much more
• Great organisation from HumanRace, pre-race and on the day, including briefings, stewarding and communication 
• Nice course around the river (although the diversion through the houses on loop 1 was less appealing) and generally flat with just a few inclines to stretch your legs
• Excellent goody bag from the sponsors (almost but not quite half a weeks shopping)

-ve

• Drinks stations using cups of water rather than bottles (I really wonder if anyone can actually drink out of an open cup and run without spilling all over yourself)
• The timing of the 8m and 16m waves meant that when the 20m runners finished their diversion and re-entered the main loop it became very congested on the narrow pavements 

I'd certainly run it again as preparation for a spring marathon, as it's ideally timed to allow runners to get their last LSR done before several of the main events.