I ran in wave 2 aiming for a time below 1:30:00. I arrived at the assembly area 15 minutes before the arrival time I had been given but on arrival I was being pushed to drop my bag and get to the start. I made my way to the wave 2 holding pen with about 50 minutes until my start. Seeing the queues for the toilets, I joined straight away and was stuck waiting for a very long time. With 15 minutes before my start time, still waiting in the queue, the wave behind were walked through our start pen by the marshalls despite the long queues of people still waiting. I then had to force my way though the crowds of wave 3 to get to the back of the wave 2 start. This meant I was as far away from the 1:30:00 pacer as it was possible to be as they were at the very front of the pen. Because if this, I had to spend the first 3 miles off the race weaving in and out of other runners which made it impossible to settle into my target pace. It was no fun for me and it was probably very disruptive to the runners I was passing. There were a huge number of runners in the same situation as me which made it even harder to make progress. On a positive note, after I did eventually find myself with a bit of space, the course was well marked, pleasant, reasonably fast, and the support out there was fantastic! The finish is a bit of a bottle neck and the marshalls should be trying harder to move people on - having put on a bit of a final sprint, I was only just able to stop before coming up against a crowd of runners who had just stopped as soon as they crossed the line! It wouldn't take much to resolve the issues I had with the event. First of all, don't try to force people who have arrived with plenty of time to spare into the start area. Let them use the assembly area to get prepared. Second, a urinal block in each start pen would have drastically reduced the congestion for the toilets. Third, and this is the big one, don't bring other waves forward until the previous wave has started, especially if you can see that there are crowds of people stuck waiting! Finally, and it's a tricky one, try to help people clear the finish area. Having to slam to a halt the moment you cross the line on tired legs is horrible. I know a lot of people cross the line and need a moment, but a bit of support to help them a few steps further would make things much safer! Anyway, that comes across as quite a negative review. As I said, it's a good event, there were just a few major failures in the organisation at the start that cast a shadow over what could have been a brilliant event!

Big Half The course is simple, well signed and easy to follow. The start was easy, although I didn't use the bag drop. The signs were simple, the toilet queues were large but seemed to work to the timeline and the start was on time and accurate. Lovely medal and the finishers t‑shirt seems to fit nicely. Some negatives. The atmosphere was the worst, or rather most absent, I've experienced. I live on the course and there was precious little advertising to get spectators interested or involved. At the aid stations with ice it wasn't clear where the other things (Lucozade, water) ended and ice started, so at one aid station I ended up with hands covered in Lucozade when wanting ice. Not great. My experience of the 20k marker was it's incorrectly marked — have spoken to a number of people who agree. Getting to anything after the finish line was far longer than before, and just having a yoghurt drink as sustenance is the least I've received after a half. It's a great event that was better and could be that again relatively easily. Big Mile The Big Mile is an excellent community event, accurately measured. Two concerns. Firstly, unlike other events such as the mini marathon, kids weren't really stopped and measures taken to ensure they were with the right adults. I accidentally walked off with a kid of a friend as she pointed at me apparently when asked by a volunteer. Secondly, the course is very crowded and difficult to navigate with large groups taking up the whole width of the course and going at different paces. Given the length of the start funnel and the number of participants, encouraging a two‑wave start for those with buggies and those without would improve the experience considerably. That said, the atmosphere was great, the medal is wonderful and the volunteers were great.

The good? I loved the atmosphere of this race, and the route itself is pretty great. The crowd were fantastic, and even at the massive hill at the end (that was a MASSIVE struggle!) I still knew I'd love and finish it. Really great water provisions, lucozade on route! Was fantastic, felt really supported, and the showers? Fantastic fun! A really good balance of music and vibes, and then slightly quieter points for the crowds to hype you up and you to find your zen again. It was a really great atmosphere and the perfect London vibe of everybody coming together. The bad? The awful cobblestone part that just KEPT GOING and dropped my pace by a good minute per mile. Not great communication at the start line about the waves. Honestly my bugbear on this race was just the finish. First of all you're handed things that you're just juggling because there's no bag, and then you're sent to stand and wait in a shady finish funnel while your legs cramp up and it's far too crowded to stretch out while you wait.

3rd time doing the relay, brilliant as usual. The marshal that was at Relay changepoint 2 (runner 2 changing to runner 3) was immense. The guy was cheering and shouting encouragement from the first wheelchair participant through to the point I started my run, he was fantastic!!! Everything about the event, great, other than the fact that leg 3 wasn't even 5k, doesn't really make sense in my opinion to have a leg that is shorter than 5k when dividing up a 21k race, which for me was the only downside to the whole event.

Good organisation, nice flat course and managed to get a PB despite the hot weather. Its good they have brought back water in bottles as I cant drink and run with the water cups. I finished at around 10.45 so I didn’t experience much congestion at the finish but my friends did who finished later. Most support staff were friendly apart from one who was near the photo stand, she was extremely rude and insulting. One thing I didnt like was the long sleeved T-shirt, cant wear in hot weather and not warm enough for the winter running. I know it is meant to be for Muslims runners so they feel inclusive but you might as well give out hijabs instead because most people prefer short sleeved T-shirt. I did try to find out whether it would be short or long sleeve but I was told they will only know when the event guide comes out, by which time it will be too late to opt out. The solution would be to offer two options.

This was my first Big Half, and overall the day went great. I decided (after not training well) that I would use it as a long run and just have fun with it. The course was good and very well marked. Bag drop off was simple pre race and getting to the start line was signed well. The course was marked well, no way you could get lost, or go of course and plenty of volunteers, crowds and some musical entertainment along the way. Finish line was good, after the swopping left turn, its just a sprint to the end. Post race, I liked the set up. It was a nice cool down walk as I picked up my water, Lucozade, medal, bag drop and finally event shirt. Then it lead into the open space were there was a bunch of things, but I did not stay to utilise any. Hot day in 2024 but fun overall :-)

A really good big city event with a great crowd support. A decent course for a good time, but we had a warm day that got up to 26 degrees with a bit of wind, so times were a little slower this year. The mile 2 goes into a warm tunnel, then you climb out the other side and towards Canary Wharf. GPS can be off through these two sections and like many others, I went out marginally too hard for the first 5k and likely paid for it a little later in the race! That said, the organisation was great, plenty of toilets, waved starts based on finish times, and seemed to run very smoothly. Good pre event comms and got my pack in the post OK. Would recommend it to anyone after a big city half.

Generally the event was well organised and it's fun to do the London route but the end was horrific. I logged an extra 0.5 miles from the finish line to pick up the medal and t-shirt. And then it was almost impossible to find family because of the one way systems. Why not finish in Greenwich near a park so there are meeting points and the finish can actually be a finish.

No changing area! My husband had to change in the park in public. Only long sleeved finisher tops. Don’t like them. Only going to wear under a t-shirt in the winter as a base layer. The ‘bar’ was alcohol free only. Why not have a drink stall selling soft drinks? It was empty there as everyone walked up to the ‘bar’ to buy a drink and found out it was all chemical, alcohol free and walked away again.