I’m usually a fan of Monster races but I feel this one fell short.

Pre-race information and registration was slick. Transition was fine and close to swim start and exit  

The turn buoy for the swim apparently drifted in the wind and meant people swam 800-1000m too long. I have no issues with these things happening but I am surprised that its position was not checked on race morning. This much longer swim was a real struggle for some of the weaker swimmers and also changed the race for many.

The bike course was ok on the whole although I am not a fan of cycling on busy roads and there was one section on a particularly busy and fast A road. Another long section of road on a dreadful road surface - a killer for the saddle contact points - in my view should not be considered suitable for the race. I saw one chap experience a broken spoke!

Run route was fab - 8 laps around the cathedral. Lots of support.

Aid stations were adequate - one each on the run and bike.

Marshalls were excellent - other than the swim turn point issue.

Medics on hand and attentive.

I know four friends who did this race with me. After experiencing severe sickness and diarrhoea 24 hours post-race I started questioning if others had been ill and in my small circle I have since identified at least 25 others with identical symptoms. I don’t blame Monster for this - it happens and it’s a risk of OWS BUT I do think they have a duty of care to find out how many really have been affected. I also know others have been ill in the past. In 10 years of racing I have never been ill before. I have also heard that some boats empty their toilets into the river close to the bridge where we started and that a sluice gate is further upstream and opened periodically after heavy rainfall.

It’s a shame that this race was not up to the usual Monster standard as I have raced a different event previously and loved it. 

I will be giving this race a very wide berth in future!

So, the turn buoy drifted down river adding the best part of 1000mtrs to the course...and nobody on the event team noticed?

The bike route is one of the worst I've ever ridden on. Some of the roads I needed a 4x4! Also, just the one water station. Not good enough.

The run route is nice, and a bit of a challenge.

The volunteers, particularly on the run route, were excellent.

My better half and I picked this race earlier on in the year based on available dates (we wanted to fit something in that wouldn't be too close to Rotterdam World AG Champs in mid September); proximity (its only 2 hours away for us) and cost (a bargain compared to Dublin 70.3!).

The other factor was course - in and around Ely, we knew it would be flat. It also didn't use multiple laps which was something we wanted to avoid. In the end, the run was changed to an 8 lap course which was slightly tedious but understood why they made the change - it all but guaranteed closed roads.

We stayed in the Travel Lodge in Ely the night before - we struggled to find the car park in the morning (it'd be good to get some signs up!) but got there eventually. Registration in the morning was quick and friendly. Transition was more spacious than I've been used to in my sprint races which was nice!

The race briefing was exactly that - brief - which I think was more about keeping the use of a megaphone down to a minimum at 6.30am on a Sunday morning. It probably led to a few more questions before the start between competitors.

The river swim went well for me - it was quite tight for the first couple of hundred metres but it spread out quickly enough after that. Water was clean, flat and I couldn't feel much stream = big thumbs up.

The bike was flat and fast, nothing really technical about it. There was one drag in to a headwind which was on a fairly horrible road surface, but otherwise it was great! The bike was 2 loops, with the only traffic towards the very end of the cycle. A solid event to debut my new bike!! 

With the swim and bike ahead of schedule, the wheels had to fly off somewhere, and it was on the run. After 2 loops of the 8 I deteriorated quite badly, resorting to a run-walk, walking as much as I could up the small hill on each lap. My run time ended 16 mins over my run target 1hr 40min, which put me 14 min over the 5 hours mark.

The marshals and drinks station team, particularly on the run,were pretty amazing; really supportive and did their jobs well.

After a couple of days to reflect on it, I'd say this was a really good first race with good support on a decent course. If you don't want to spend ££££ on an Ironman branded event, consider the Monster!

Really good event. As relatively local Saturday registration was ideal ahead of Sunday. River swim unique as only done lakes before. Nice fast cycle (in theory as this not my strongest element) on flat route although winds in the fens can make it tougher. Run superb - 8 laps of the town which means lots of spectators and encouragement. Marshalls absolutely superb, especially those giving out wristbands to Mark laps. One minor quibble was the car park wasn't brilliantly signposted as you got close or obvious from sat-nav and overhanging tree branches at entrance made it bit of challenge to enter with bike on roof. As it's close to home will definitely be back

The pre-race information is good if only a little economical with the distance from car parking to T1, allow a 10-15 minute walk and be prepared to carry everything with you.

Swim - It's a good and easy to navigate river swim, be prepared to swim according to the conditions but after all it is a river! There is a turn back to make the 1900mtr (although my GPS measured it shorter than 1800mtrs); the exit and run to T1 can be busy with random members of the public but nothing that can't be navigated if your aware of it.

Bike - It's flat and in 2016 fairly windy - my major critism is the signage could be much better / bigger it was easy to miss them. This year was damp & had some muddy / slippery sections but it is the countryside so not a lot that anyone can do really. The road surface is awful, on one section there is no respite from this; the constant bump bump is irritating!!

Run - City centre run of almost 5 laps with a feed station about every 2km. Some sections are tight and you end up slowing for runners in front, it's also fairly undulating so no good for that PB. It also seems short - I measured it as 19km. The marshalls are excellent but you have to be aware that there are sections of the course that are unmanaged including a supermarket entrance which gets very busy with traffic.

Value for money it's actually very good, feed stations seemed well stocked - although not my choice of gels but thats how it goes. Some traffic management would be good, more so on the bike turn into T2 along with some parts of the run but these things cost money so it's a balance.

I won't be doing this race again only because of the bike route - it's just the quality of the road surface is not good at all.

Entered this race pretty last minute.....

I thought, great a chance to finally go under 4:30. Nope! This course is not fast.

Swim - a river swim, pretty standard with a clear turning mark. Predominently down river so pretty quick. 

Bike Course - my low scoring all comes from the bike course. Its frankly horrendous. The worst bike course I have ridden, road surfaces are terrible even the A roads have bump after bump, it was like riding over the rumble strips as you approach a roundabout at times.

As you ride alongside the canal I couldnt find one part of the road where I wasnt being rattled. Luckily my bottles were secure!

On another section of road it was clearly often used by farm traffic and was quite dangerous - 3 guys I know came down as they slipped on mud.

As for nutrition on the bike a table with bottled water is pretty poor - I'm relatively quick so can cope with just water for 2.5hrs but the guys who are out there for 4/5 hours thats not good enough. Yes its only £100 entry, but other non branded halfs are £40 more and have more than 1 feed station and more than just water! Worth every penny.

Run Course - this is the best part of the race, a scenic run course with laps around the cathedral. Nutrition on the course is ok, with electrolytes and gels available. Course has a few lumps in it as well, so is definitely not fast! Also a slight moan that its nearly half a mile short, not that it really bothers me as an average runner, but surely its possible to add half a mile over that distance?

Overall - I struggle to reccomend this race, purely because of the bike course it is so bad. If the organisers could change this then I'd defintely recommend it. Shame really.

Very early start!

Somehow I got seeded in Wave 1, for the swim! No recollection of putting a time forward, had I have been asked , I would have been put in Wave 2.

Good swim route, in the River Ouse. Short run to T1.

Out on the road, there was an out leg to the main loop, which was done twice, before retracing the ride along the out leg, back to T2. The B1411 was rough as guts, and really did spoil it for me. The feed station was placed midway down a fast decent. God knows how you're supposed to take a bottle, without giving away free speed.

Bike leg was quite short, for a Middle event.

The run was 4 laps of the City centre, with a few short lumps to be navigated on each lap. Plenty of support offered around the coure.

Run distance was just over 12 miles.

Great support from the marshals, too.

I would do it again, though I'd be hating the B1411 bike leg!