Friendly local 10 miler perfect for early season. 

Gym bag for finishers with a chocolate frog, Randoms sweets, water,pen, local newspaper and a gong sized medal - what more would you want ?! 

This year we had dry roads & blue skies but with an icy but vicious gusty wind I guess it’s still winter Wiltshire weather. 

Helpful & encouraging marshals. A few cars got all worked up and blocked themselves on the roads. But nothing marshals could have done to stop drivers being impatient. 

Ease of registration was simple for me, as our local running club had over 60 Runners we were able to collect our race bibs from one of the club nights instead of having to queue up on the day. Race HQ was a local pub (hand for post-race dinner) and the bag drop was there as well then it was a short walk over to the start.

I can’t comment on the pre-race briefing as I didn’t hear a word of it and to signal the start someone simply shouted “Go” which was tough to hear over 600 runners. I only realise it had started when people started to move forwards. 

The route itself wasn’t quite & out & back as the loop back took a separate route back into the town. The course itself is undulating and mostly along country lanes, the water stop is about 3 miles in and is the same water stop as on the way back, I do think there could have been one at the turning point as well.

The marshals were fantastic, shouting support as you passed them on the course and providing clear instructions. One thing to keep in mind is the race isn’t chip timed therefore you only get an accurate finish time if you start at the front with the super fast runners. 

I’d signed up to the race through a transfer from a friend who had to withdraw. Switching entry was really easy and the process very smooth and quick. I was still entered as Female on the system (as a relic from my friends original entry) and asked if it needed to be changed but I didn’t hear back so assumed it was ok (which it was).

The event was easy to find and the local car park had plenty of space. Registration was in the pub and after a 5 minute queue I’d got my number. The queue for the gents in the pub was tiny but the ladies toilet queue was enormous.

The race briefing was in the park in Melksham and the start line was on the main road. The race itself started off with a short hill followed by a about 5 undulating miles through the countryside. The roads weren’t closed and there were several idiotic drivers zipping past runners around blind corners which was pretty dangerous.

The course turned back on itself roughly 5 miles in and passed through some lovely areas including Lacock. There was a short uphill section after Lacock followed by a return along the same country lanes for a few miles. The finish line was back in the park on the path. The water station in this race was roughly around the 3 and 7 mile mark.

The medal is beautiful with what I think is Wiltshire’s county bird, the Great Bustard on it. There was also a bottle of water, chocolate and some sweets in the bag and a newspaper from the sponsors.

It was a great race, the people around the route were really supportive and the marshalls fantastic. It was definitely worth doing and I’d like to enter again.

Another great run from Stampede Sports.  Starts and finishes near to King George v park in Melksham taking in the countryside nearby.

Registration at a local pub, which worked well, except for the toilets.  The local toilets in the public car park were shut which put extra pressure on the toilets in the pub.

That said its a great course that winds it way up and through the National Trust property at Lacock.  Some local support in the villages with great support from marshalls on the course.

Loving the bling, large medal featuring the Gt Bustard