This was my second time running the Robin Hood Half Marathon, and in true Robin Hood style the weather was unexpectidly warm. 

The race village is easy to navigate, very easy to access via the tram and the start is in a beautiful location along the embankment. 

The start area is very chaotic with spectators mingling with runners alongside the start gates. It makes it very difficult to actually get to, or in you start area with many runners breaking the fence or climbing over it to get in. Charity runners have their own start gate resulting in there being a gap between predicted finishing times. It does not seem overly fair or safe to runners behind them who may be faster and I would suspect that charity runners would want to be nearer to their predicted finishing time pacer. 

The starting pens are wide enough, but shortly after crossing the start line the path narrows creating a bottle neck for runners which is frustrating when you're trying to get going and I saw a number of runners knocking into the fences. 

Robin Hood has been notoriously hilly near the start of the race which is a real downside. You are only just getting warmed up and into a rhyrhm when you hit the first hill at just over 1.5 miles into the race. The next 1.5 miles are through tortourous hills in The Park and it is impossible to get into a decent rhythm. It's beautiful to run through, however, the hills are brutal so early on in the race. 

Once you are through the park you get to the first water station which seemed further back than it was the year before from my memory. The other real negative of Robin Hood is the water stations. Instead of water bottles, they give you bags of water which are next to impossible to open. A lot of energy is wasted attempting to open these, and many runners resort to trying to squeeze them open causing it to burst and the water to either go all over you or shoot out into the back of your throat. In the heat this is incredibly dangerous, especially for those runners who are relying on waterstation rather than carry their own water. I did not get one water bag that was pre-opened, or easy to open. A lot of the time I ended up throwing a full/near full water bag away. I've never seen so  many runners on the ground in medical distress during a race (and this is in comparison to my fully marathon and a half marathon run in 28 degree heat) as I did during Robin Hood 2017. I imagine the water situation played a part in this. 

I do feel that the race photos are ridiculously overpriced for the number you get and the quality. The company they use in my racing experience is the worst, and when other races like Shrewsbury Half Marathon can provide you with your photos for free I don't understand why Robin Hood photos are so expensive.

The spectator support of Robin Hood is always great. I had a number of spectators cheer me on and encourage me to keep going when I fell apart just before 7 miles. The spectators along the embankment are also amazing and they helped me to keep running that last bit when my body was screaming at me to stop and walk. It is a real shame though that most spectators leave before a good chunk of the marathon runners finish. My group stayed behind as we had two girls running their first full marathon, but it would be nice to see more people stay and support. 

Good massage tent and moves quickly. The corporate challenge tent is also very well stocked with free lucazade and pasta for runners when they finish. 

A real unexpected bonus this year was the finishers t-shirt. This is the 2nd time I've run Robin Hood and I know from friends that this is the first time in recent memory this has happened. The medal as always is beautiful and definitely one of the best I've had. It would be nice not to be charged so much for your iTab, especially in consideration with how much the photos cost. The goody bags were MUCH better this year and was a real plus of the race.

Overall, I would recommend this race it is a good challenge and the medal is top notch. However, something needs to be done about the water situation and the hills. It is far too hilly too early on in the race. I don't mind hills, but the timing/location of them just doesn't make sense. The water situation in any kind of heat is dangerous, and when they can hand out squirt topped water bottles at the finish line, I do not understand why this can't be handed out during the race.