As with all RunThrough events, everything was well organised, the course was well thought out and the marshalls were absolutely superb! 

Water stations at appropriate intervals and bands to keep us smiling along the Thames! 

Despite awful conditions, the team had made the course safe and it was a wonderful run.

Can’t wait for next year!

I've written a full review here.

Summary: Decent communication from the organisers before the race. Would have liked an email or social media update the day before with the weather conditions. Race number and timing chip was posted well in advance. The start was well sign posted, but I would have liked clearer tannoy announcements that the various waves were starting. The waves themselves were not well marshalled, anyone could start in any wave. The course was flat and about as scenic as a London based course can be. The route was also well marshalled, particularly at road crossings. The final few miles were a bit muddy and tough, but this was more down to weather conditions. The medal / goody bag etc at the finish was as good as any other race.

This was the third time in 3 years I have run this half marathon. The regsitration process is very simple and from experience the event sells out a few months before the event. The cost is reasonable for this type of race.

Apart from the confirmation email there are no newsletters or other spam; which I like. Bib and chip are sent out the week before the race.

With an eye on the weather and with news of other races close by cancelling I saw the organisers updated the website from two days before to inform that it would be going ahead. Twitter update went out the night before.

Parking is very limited but train access from London Waterloo through to Hampton Court is every 30 mins. A 15 min walk to the race village from the station. I'm not one for race villages particularly when it is cold and windy but there were a few stalls and stands.

Start waves are allocated but there is no identifier on bibs or otherwise so waves were not policed. For a field of about 3500 this was not a problem and everyone seemed to be very sensible about it. Plenty of space in the pen (1st wave) and there was no jostling or bumping. The start itself was punctual and to the point.

The course starts with a sharp left turn out of the palace and alongside the Thames to Kingston. Mainly tarmac or hard packed paths with some standing water due to melting snow. Penty of space for passing in the pack I was in (1.30hrs pace). Over Kingston bridge to go back down the river. This is all footpath and pavement again, shared with pedestrians but no real problems. Heading out of Kingston, the pavements were very icy and most runners ending up on the side of the road. This wasn't a problem as people were in single file in the cycle lane. For the following larger groups it would have left no choice but to run on the ice. On re-entering Hampton Court, over the bridge and back up the river same as the first leg. Final 2 miles in the palace grounds was initially undulating compared with the pancake flat previous 11 miles but flattened within a few hundred meters. Slippery in places then turning to mud and puddles until the finish. The course was modified last year to take out the looping finish on the green which was a bit of a morale sapper. This is a much better finish that ends in the palace gardens.

Water was evenly spread across 3 stops in 330ml sports bottles. Marshals and crossing supervisors were superb. Signage was very good.

Support is very limited except close to the Palace. Even when the weather has been good in the past this has been the case.

Goody bag is fair. Water, flapjack, protein shake, the world's saltiest corn snack. No banana :-(. Technical T-Shirt is good. This race produces the best medals. Heavyweight, coulourful and unique.

A good course for PBs. Running next to the river is calming but the roadside stretch turns it into any other road race.

Free photos are posted on Facebook but not everyone (me included) uses facebook.

First time doing this race and booked up via a charity...met the target and was given a number! 

Booked a weekend away so decided to do bushy parkrun on the Saturday which was rather cold...

Sunday morning came and this was maybe one of the few races which wasn't cancelled due to severe weather...we were very pleased not to have had a wasted journey and the event was organised well. 

Easy to find the bag drop and start.. went off in waves so no clusters of people squeezing around although we did miss our wave so done a little weaving through slower runners.

The route was great...some roads but traffic was very courteous to us all and the first 10 mile went well. 

Legs tiring a little with an icy wind for 2 mile or so but hoped for a tail wind to help me to the end. The last mile wasn't my best and the mud was awful.. keeping balance was hard but we eventually passed the finish line! 

Awesome bling and t shirt...great value for the price and marshals were fab..

It was freezing as a runner so hats off to all who made this event happen. I couldn't imagine standing about for a couple of hours or more in those conditions

Highly recommended for anyone! Beautiful place and hope to do this again.. maybe in warmer conditions 

Have to commend the organisers for still letting this event go ahead considering the weather. A really big ThankYOU to the Marsells, Band and Choir for standing in the sub zero temperatures to allow the event to go ahead . We salute you!

The event is very well organised with Start Waves, the route is lovely, flat and taking you along the River Thames path twice, and it was even gritted in places!  Route is majority of paths until last 2 or so miles taking you into the Hampton Court Palace gardens to the Finish in the Grounds.
I would preference cross trainers especially if the weather has been bad as the last Miles are cross-country and it was extremely muddy!

Only thought that they could have changed the Finish to how it use to be 2 years ago along the main road of Hampton Court bringing you into the grounds on less muddy trails. 

Plenty of water stations. Refreshment stalls at the Finish & toilets with the baggage tents & short walk to the start at the front of the Palace.
Route is great for spectators
Great finishers medal, T shirt and goody bag.

And of course King Henry for high fives & welcoming hugs at the Finish. 

Following the months of training, the last thing you want to here that your race was cancelled. Palace Half was probably the only one on in the area, as due to adverse whether conditions, a few races were cancelled. 

The race went on without a glitch, thank you to organisers! :

- all systems worked fine

- all areas were marshalled(in the cold, well done to them)(however there was a stretch where runners went on the road with a live traffic)

- parking was fine

- the last stretch of the Half was not thought through for the weather, about 3k were tatal mud/thinking full trail here. They should have changed that come back stretch into a loop or something else

- 3 water stations, bottled water, very convenient 

- the medal was a great bling as expected, happy with it 

- I think during the warmer times, it is an amazing course, but when it is 0c, windchill -6 and muddy 5k - it was quite a test 

- I could not see much of support happening, but then it was freezing outside

Overall happy and gladly do the race again!

Probably one of the coldest days of the years for this race, but of course that wasn't an issue regarding organisation.

I felt that the pre-information was pretty poor, given the unprecidented weather conditions and vast amount of race cancellations in London and across the country. Whilst other races were providing daily information it made me feel quite uneasy that we didn't hear very much from the organisers. 

Course was great, along the towpath - although I had a fall other runners were really helpful and if I required any medial assistance it was either 1.5 miles ahead or 1.5 miles behind, I didn't see a 'medical bike/support bike' until the final two miles. Apart from that the course was really good and the start and finish areas were very pretty - I just wish it had been a sunny spring day to really feel the full benefit of Hampton Court Palace and the grounds. There were also so fantastic bands across the towpath which really improved the experience. Plenty of marshals/traffic control once we were off the tow path and on the main roads. 

Great medal and was nice to see an appearance from King Henry! Goody bag was also filled with snacks and a t-shirt. 

Full 'how my race went' review will be live on https://https://runningabby.wordpress.com soon!

this was the first half marathon I ever did, chosen because of the fact that it starts and ends in Hampton Court grounds (there is one that only starts there, this is usually in February). Very quick and easy to sign up for, and race numbers (actually names rather than numbers) were sent out the week before so no need to register on the day, though if you were a later registrant you could pick up a number at the "race village". Car parking and transport here could be a bit of an issue - we got there very early and parked at the train station across the river (Hampton Court station) but it was filling up rapidly. The trains to that Train station on a Sunday are infrequent already and there was the usual Sunday engineering works which made it much worse! Nothing the organisers can do about that but you would think Network Rail would look at the local events occurring and maybe try and delay the works for a week! The queues for the toilets near the race start were very long - my dad who was running the race with me actually missed his wave and had to start later. The sound system wasn't great so if you were stood nearer the back of the wave you couldn't really hear a safety briefing. The course is nice and flat (the bridges are as near to a "hill" as you'll get!) and runs along the river bank from Hampton Court to Kingston bridge before crossing over the bridge and coming back along the southern bank of the Thames. There were a few bits where the course was a little narrow in this section and there wasn't a barrier between you and the Thames and you had to be very careful with footing as people were  still packed relatively close together. Once you reach Hampton Court Bridge you cross back to the northern side and follow the same path alongside the Palace as at the beginning. When you reach Kingston bridge you then turn left and begin the last 2 miles to get to the finish, through the Palace grounds. In 2017 the headwind on these 2 miles was ridiculous! It's very exposed at this point and it's just slogging through a well-trodden path, so there was no hiding from the wind at all. There also were very few supporters out on this bit, but as you get nearer to the finish (probably for about the last 500m) you get crowds lining the barriers. 

There weren't any food stops but there were three water stations, around miles 3, 7 and 11. 

The main disappointment about this race was the lack of support. There were huge chunks of the course where there were no crowds and then other sections where all those watching would read your name bib and when they didn't know the name just wouldn't cheer. It was a bit of a shame as it made the majority of the course very quiet. Having done races outside of London, I do think this is common for a big city race - what's wrong with cheering for everyone that's going past? 

Either way, the medal and tshirt and goodie bag were all very good - the medal especially. It's extremely flat so good for a first half, and the organisation was good.