Riverside Half Marathon was a fun, friendly event, organised by Lancaster Runners. 
It was a very late decision to enter this race. The late start of 11am was perfect as it meant I could travel by train to the race on the day and did not need to book an overnight stay in a hotel. 
 Race HQ was based at a pub. Registration was quick & easy. There were plenty of loos which you don't always get at events such as this.
I've done a couple of Lancaster events previously. The thing that stands out is how well organised and friendly they are. 
Half Marathon was a mass gun start  - not chip timed but still accurately timed. There was a little bit of congestion at first but the field soon spread out. For this reason I would recommend any speedy runners start at the very front. Compare bloke kept runners entertained with jokes & laughs as we waited to start. 
Course itself was quite scenic. It did a little chicane before heading along the river & onto cycle paths before turning round and heading back to the finish. It was fast, flat and on really good quality paths so was perfect for those chasing PB's or anybody stepping up to half marathon for the first time. Course was well marshalled with drink stations every 3 miles or so. One slight criticism were the bottled water were quite large so it was a bit wasteful. 
Smaller bottles would've been better - something for organisers to consider maybe?
Finishers received a fantastic, well designed medal, bottle of water, t-shirt & some chocolate ( Wagon Wheel). 
There were prizes for 1st, 2nd, 3rd men/ladies plus age category prizes. 
In summary-
Brilliant, friendly event. Great value, flat course & superbly organised.
I can't think of any real criticisms in all honesty. Thank you Lancaster Runners for a great day. 

This is a nice local event with a good feel to it. The field size isn't very big, circa 200, but the atmosphere has a close community feel.

The race is quite raw, no chip timing and ran out of a local pub but that is no way a bad thing here.

It felt well organised and the route was well marshalled. Plenty of drinks stops and it was easy to navigate.

The medal was amazing, especially as this isn't marketed as a big event.

The event felt like good value and wasn't boring, considering it's an out and back route.