A fab race that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Only the beginning and the end of the race was actually in Stratford centre itself, the rest was out on beautiful roads and the Stratford Greenway. There were some great views.

A fairly undulating course but I would say that the couple of hills that I came across were not that steep.  A pretty flat route that enabled me to get a 10k PB which makes it a winner in my book.

Water station at around 5k and then when you get to the finish you get a bottle of water and a banana. Oh and of course the great bespoke medal. Nice, big and weighty - one of my favourites.

I would recommend and have done so to a few friends.

Despite the name, there isn't actually much of the Stratford 10k that takes place in Stratford itself! The race start is just on the edge of the city centre, and the course then takes you out of town into the countryside, before returning to the city via a foot/cycle path known as the Greenway.

The first 4k or so is almost exclusively uphill, albeit on a fairly gentle gradient, but you do feel it in your legs! After that it's a fairly flat course, however the Greenway section, which lasts for approximately 4k, can get quite muddy if it's been raining, as it had been on the day, so it was somewhat slippy in places. The last couple of km are back in Stratford itself, finishing in the recreation ground next to the canal. It is a picturesque course, especially at the top of the uphill section, and Stratford itself is beautiful. There is one water station, at approximately 5k.

I registered online, however entries were accepted on the day, and from what I saw the process was pretty seamless. My race number & timing chip arrived in plenty of time for the race, and the information provided pre-race was excellent, answering any and all questions I might have had. There is ample parking at the recreation ground, along with toilets (although these were busy pre-race); however it was a long and slow queue to get out of the car park afterwards - I went for a wander around Stratford to let it die down, which is something I'd recommend to anyone, especially if you've not visited before.

A baggage drop was in operation, which involved leaving your belongings with a marshal, who then transported them to the finish line to be collected at the end. It's not actually far from where the race finished to the pre-race gathering point (5 minute walk), but it's good that they took on board the different locations and provided this service.

Pre-race, runners gathered at the recreation ground, and divided themselves into four separate pens according to their expected finish times. I've seen this approach work brilliantly in the past, but I did feel it could have been managed better at Stratford, because as soon as we started heading towards the start line itself, it became a bit of a free-for-all and the organisation of the pens seemed to be lost. The start line was a few minutes' walk from the gathering point, which I think was done to ensure that roads would be closed for as little time as possible. Not an issue for me at all. 

Post-race, finishers were presented with their medal, which is excellent quality and fully bespoke (one of my favourites); and a canvas tote bag - however, this was empty, so not actually a goody bag as such! Bananas & bottles of water were also available. 

Marshalling was excellent throughout, with plenty of encouragement from them all around the course. Local support was limited due to being out in the country, but there was plenty of it when back in Stratford.

Overall, a really enjoyable race, and one I'll look to do again, especially as I was a bit disappointed with my time due to slight illness on my part.

My first time doing this race with good pre-race information which answered all my questions.

Race number & timing chip shoe tag posted out prior to race although you could enter on the day.

Plenty of parking available prior to the race, I used the public toilet in the Bridgefoot carpark rather than those closer to the race where there were some queues.

4 pens for different predicted finish times & then we were walked to the start on a closed road. This race was approximately half on undulating closed roads & half on a flat gravelled trail path. The route was easily followed & well marshalled, there was a water stop (with bottles) at 5k. Local support was quite limited until we got back into the town but all the   marshall & runners were friendly & encouraging on the route.

Good support at the finish, canvas goody bag from Nuffield Health (sponsor), banana, bottle of water & someone to put a medal around your neck, much better than finding it in the bottom of your bag & having to put it on yourself!

Overall I enjoyed the race & I would definitely do it again as I did a poor time due to a sore knee and want to do better!!

Not much of the course is in Stratford itself - you start near the canal and then run out to Milcote on undulating roads, before returning via the Stratford Greenway.

The second half of the route can get a muddy when wet, so something to bear in mind. It's a pleasant course though and I think I'd recommend it.

For those that use water in a race, I noticed that the water station on this one was using bottles. Finishers get a unique medal, a banana, and a bottle of water.