Getting up at four in the morning is not my idea of fun at the best of times, but getting up this early for a race well…

I had heard lots about the Sunrise 5k, so was willing to give it ago! Along with hundreds of other people! As it was early in the morning it was easy to find a parking spot along the streets of Nottingham.

We were all grouped together and as soon as you noticed the people ahead of you were off, no race briefing? Unless you were lucky enough to be at the front. Now I am not one of the faster runners, hardly! I was more or less at the back!! There weren’t many marshals around but when it came to crossing some of the main roads in Nottingham we were herded across traffic lights with people stopping the minimal early morning traffic into Nottingham.

From those closer to the front they faced bottle necks as everyone tried to get around the corner at once! Though this route was unique because of the earliness of it, I am pretty sure the Nottingham 10k’s follow much of the same route.

Though there was plenty of signage, parkrun felt better marshalled! As I came towards the end of the race and it was just a case of following those in front of you. Had all the marshalls given up or were they poorly staffed? From a businesses I expected more!

The registration for the process was pretty easy, with the option of picking your t-shirt up the day before. But again if anyone had an issue during the race of collapsed how would they know who I was with no number assigned to me. Yes we all filled in the registration process but think lone person at the back no marshals around? Like I said Parkrun is better marshalled!

Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the experience and will most certainly sign up next year, I just worry more about what could have gone wrong!

I had ran the Derby in 2017 and was looking forward to running the Nottingham version this year. Great value for money and my son was able to run it with me this year which he loved as he normally isn't old enough. Collecting the t-shirts the day before made it easier on the morning. I wasn't on the initial entrants list, however an e-mail to the office and they confirmed my entry straight away. 

On the morning we arrived and it was already busy. I felt that there were too many people in the area where we were gathered. This was the same through the course and there were lots of bottle necks at various points. The marshalls all the way round were great and very encouraging, even taking some unwanted hassle from people who were held up. I would definitely do another sunrise run again  but would do the Derby again instead of Nottingham just because it is less busy.

Well apart from the stress of the t shirt situation the race was fab !! 

I was how ever able to change my t shirt st the start. It did dampen the pre race build up squeezing my self into a  "large" top that was so short that must of been designed for a child and not a 5ft 4 woman. There was so many t shirts sat there when I got there at 5 am so I don't see why we couldn't swap the day before ? So there wasn't need for me to wear a vest and a tutu. Never mind. I baked running in these lol. 

It was very busy. Great to see so many people turn up. Was a very hectic start - couldn't tell you if there was a warm up or race briefing as no clue what was going off . We just saw people moving that how we new it had started. It was a little hard to get round in places which ment quiet a bit more walking than I would of liked because of the narrow paths and by the canal. I would of liked to have ran more than I got chance to but unless I was a 8/9 min mile pace  and was at the front this wasn't possible. I was stuck behind groups who were running at my walking pace with no room to get through or not being let through  

Agree with others about large groups of walkers - fully agree that the race to be open to all abilities it's great to see every one out  but perhaps have designated starting areas for walkers and runners ? Just likes big racers  would help  I'm not a fast runner so I wouldn't dream of getting in the fast runners way. Because some people just wouldn't move!  I started out half way in but ended up dodging so many  it was difficult ! I don't think people realise what that can do to your legs. The paths were over grown in so many places as well  I got whacked in the faces by bushes and tripped on twigs. !! 

Ive done this race before when it was run by another company and things were no different really  (other than t shirt and more awesome medal. ) 

i loved the medal  gorgeous! Very good quality  worth it alone ! My children loved it too  ! Loved coming in to the man waving the flag! 

Didn't bother with the fruit  ques were huge  

I enjoyed my self but others could be more mindful! Great event. Thank you and will be back just will try and start more at the front. 

I do like a race with a difference, this being no exception. I'm used to early starts but this race excels at its ungodly hour of commencement!

This is the 3rd outing of this race, and it's simply gone from strength to strength. Originally with a handful of hundreds of entrants to 1000 in 2017, and during 2016 2 new locations were added at Derby and Leicester.

The concept is simple, get into the city very early and run through empty streets all wearing the same brightly coloured top, all having a general lark. But it's at 5:30am!

So at 4:10 I prize myself out of bed to get a very early breakfast and kit on and out of the door. The timing of this is everything. I don't need tons of prep, it's just a 5k, I just need to get to the starting area, get my T and be ready in the pack for 5:30am.

I joined the pack, did a pre-race selfie with some friends, the mood is jubilant. There's a small brief, I can't hear it, but I'm not bothered as I know what to expect and I know the route as I ran this event last year. It's why I'm back, it's brilliant. A wave of the flag and we are off. I'm not gunning for a coveted place, just to be part of the pack all in purple.

The route meanders around parts of Nottingham that are easily accessible under normal circumstances, the difference is we are granted clear crossings, over roads with traffic management. Drivers of vehicles must get frustrated, but they need to get out of their steel coffins and join us. The middle part of the route takes us along the canal. It's so peacefully quiet, not a ripple on the water and it's not even 6am yet.

5k is a quick race, I'm in no hurry to finish, so I plod around taking in my city in the dawn light. The finish line approaches, I don't sprint finish as the area is very busy. The race is at its purest. No finish arch, barriers chip timing (we all have gps watches) or speakers blaring out unwanted music. Just a handful of flags letting you know you're part of a unique event.

There are queues for the bananas, well it's a queue of people who haven't eaten yet. I ignore this, I'm only interested in my medal. The ladies are struggling to keep up with a steady stream of runners now crossing the line, but again it's all part of this event. It's extremely well organised, but with out the military starchness that comes with some road races. It's more a fun-run with a proper medal.

This is a proper medal. It's actually a spinner. The race is only 15 notes. Someone once said to me 'Why would you pay for a 5k when parkrun is free'? Not paying £15 for this race is tight. This race is not revolutionary its evolutionary!

Would I do it again? Yes this is my second go, I'll be back next year and as was the case this year, I booked my place within minutes of the email arriving, inviting me to join the ranks. £15 for a race at 5:30am in the city, its better value than some city 10k races at more than double this entry fee.

This was the second year that I did this 5:30 run and there are a lot of improvements this year, especially in regards to the t-shirt and medal (which is awesome).

The medal is really unique and provided by virtual running. I really like that you can rotate the sun to represent sunrise and sunset. It’s not a feature you really ever see on a race medal.

I really enjoyed the fresh fruit provided at the end. It was all of high quality and a nice way to finish an early morning run.

The marshals were really energetic (especially for that time in the morning) and really friendly. There were plenty placed over the course and stationed in key positions on the course.

I did expect some sort of warm-up at the beginning especially considering the time of morning to ensure everybody was awake and ready for the run. It also would have bene helpful to have an area for those who were planning on walking the route behind the runners. There was a large group of walkers near the front of the start area who walked in a fairly straight line right at the beginning, it was difficult to get around them and a lot of runners were having to dodge each other as they tried to get around them.

There were also some fairly narrow paths/turns fairly early on. The worst pile up was as we turned to get onto the canal path by the pub. There were quite a few near misses as you come around the corner fairly wide only to be faced with running into a bush or another runner. I’m not quite sure how that could be avoided, maybe taking the route a bit more into the car park. With so many runners it could be a bit of a hazard. Perhaps some signs for next year stating narrow turn etc, would be helpful.

Overall a really friendly and well organised event. I cannot praise the marshals enough, I can’t imagine what time they had to be up this morning but they were very cheery and supportive.

Events like this really bring out the best in people and it is a great way to explore the city with minimal traffic. The comradery amongst the runners was brilliant. It isn’t easy getting up and running at 5:30 in the morning, especially up those last two hills. The runners were all encouraging each other to make it up that last little bit before the home stretch.

I highly recommend this event to all. It is a lot of fun, and such a nice way to explore the city (especially canal area) safely in the morning.