First time running for myself of the Great Birmingham Run, the half marathon version, new for 2017 the Great Run Compnay also staged a full marathon on the same day which others will have reviewed elsewhere.

I was on the Duracell pacer team for the run, pacing 2hr20m. Sign up as always with the Great Run events was straight forward via the website, and as I have now done so many Great Runs, my details are stored on their database so there was no need to type in all my information.

Pre race briefings were good, via social media and email, and information was concise and to the point. My race pack arrived in plenty of time with my race bib and information magazine inside.

With the fact that the race was starting from Aston University in the heart of the City, and with the full marathon on the same day, I thought it was best to not try to drive into the area and risk trying to find a carpark amongst the road closures. Instead I followed the advice given in the pre race blurb and used public transport. I parked at Shirley train station and caught a train into Birmingham Moor Strret station (£4.20 return, free parking at the station). The trip took less than 15 minutes and it was a ten minute walk to the race village from Moor Street. On the walk in, we had a chance to cheer on some of the Marathon runners entering the final km to the finish line.

The race village consisted of the Great Run Info tent, Arla protein Yoghurt statnd (free smaples) official mercandise stand from Pro Direct running, 2XU compression gear stand and oddly a Nando's stand, handing out free samples as well. A few charity stands were in place as well.

The runners are started in waves, the first wave starting off at 1.30pm (strange to start a half marathon so late in the day, but the full marathon took the early morning honour) I was allocated to the Pink wave, the last to start, and we crossed the line at 1.58pm.

The first 4 or 5kms followed a twisty route through some rather uninspiring industrial areas, past a lot of shuttered warehouses and closed shops, before making its way through a residential area, we took a loop through Canons Park before circling the Edgbaston Cricket ground and heading off down the Pershore road. This was a changed course from previous years, the infamous big hill which had dominated before at Mile 11 had now been taken out, but there were a few uphill sectins added to the route which caused a few groans and grumbles throughout the run. After a trip around Bournville, close to Cadburys World, the route followed Pershore Road back towards the city, before passing the Bull Ring shopping centre before hitting the final KM.

After the initial blandness of the first section the course was interesting and well supported trouighout, marshalls were positioned well and water stations at frequent intervals kept the runners well hydrated on what became a quite warm afternoon.

After finishing you were given the usual Great Run finishers draw string back with a few goodied and leaflets inside, along with a Tech finishers T shirt and medal

Times and finishing positions were quickly available on the Great Run website.

In summary, the usual good organisation you come to expect from Great Run events, although I had not run the old course, I think replacing the one big hill was a good idea, and I enjoyed to fina two thirds of the route after leaving the industrial areas. Maybe look at the starting time as it was a bit weird starting at 2pm in the afternoon, but a race I would certainly do again.