Despite being billed as the Loughborough Half the majority of it isn't in Loughborough, though this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The route heads out towards Shepshed and Hathern for two loops before heading back to the starting point of Charnwood College. There are a number of hills through the course though the route mostly follows footpaths and  pavements (including a footbridge over the M1). 

On the whole the event was well organised and the marshalls were very friendly and helpful. The race was after some very horrible weather so the bits in fields were quite boggy and one hill in particular was very muddy; obviously this isn't the organisers fault but something to be aware of!

This is a great small race though of course the smallness of it does mean a few things were lacking - there weren't any toilets on the route and the food stations mostly consisted of jelly babies (which aren't vegetarian). 

There is also a relay option for people who don't want to do the full 13.1 miles.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from my first Loughborough Half Marathon in 2017, especially as the course had been changed from previous years so that it was now primarily out in the beautiful rural Leicestershire countryside, as opposed to a traditional road half marathon. 

Registration was very simple, and as a Loughborough resident, the option to collect my race number from a local pub in the days leading up to the event was really useful, particularly to make the often stressful morning of the race much easier.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the race. The course, although very challenging in parts, was thoroughly entertaining, with a variety of different terrains (with some mud thrown in for good measure), a large field of runners for a local race, and complete with live music, ample parking, and much needed free massages at the end! Due to the number of offroad sections on the course, it does mean that there are quite a few stages where there are very few spectators, but who needs spectators when there are great views!

The course itself is not entirely suited to PBs, but instead offers a testing run that is fantastic for runners looking for a challenge, to enjoy the lovely rural landscape and to experience the wonderful local running community. The route involves two laps of a 4.5 mile loop (with an out and back from the start/finish to make up the distance. For faster runners, during the second loop there are some areas where it becomes challenging to overtake runners on their first lap, but not enough to cause any real disruption. 

Overall, the Loughborough Half Marathon is a very tough but enjoyable race, with plenty of runners of all abilities, a great atmosphere and for a Half Marathon I would argue good value for money!

I loved this race. It’s two loops around, but there are plenty of twists and turns, so it never gets boring. Also the setting changes throughout from road to nature trail to neighbourhood, to trail through a field, to hill, etc. For me this always gave me something to chase. A few really good hills, making me a better athlete by the end. 

Great support from community too... live music at the finish line. Easy to park.. and Loughborough offers a great day out if you want to have a relaxing afternoon in a local restaurant or pub.

I am looking forward to running it again this year.