Run Ashton Court is organised by St Peter’s Hospice. There’s a standard entry fee and a request to either do some fundraising or donate a fixed amount in addition. Having signed up a few weeks before I gave a donation.
After signing up there was an email with directions and additional info, but don’t rely on the post code to get you to the car park, because it won’t! The postcode takes you to a gatehouse with no entry. From this incorrect gatehouse, head down the hill, take the first left and the entrance to Ashton Court is on your left. The car parking cost £1.30 which was fine.
This is a small race with 150 or so runners it doesn’t have a bag drop and only two portaloos (which surprisingly didn’t result in huge queues).
The venue itself is in the grounds of Ashton Court and the start line is a few hundred metres from the main house. It’s a 5km loop too so you know what to expect on the second leg. The race starts on a short downhill section followed by a long climb to the top of the hill via a small stretch on tarmac and then a really beautiful woodland section. The climb through the woods is on a rocky and often muddy path that zigzags through the trees before a gently undulating section, quickly followed by another steep climb out on to the summit. Once youre on top there’s a short dogleg section followed by almost 2km of downhill before turning to make the climb through the woods again. There’s one water station and that’s found at the start of the second lap.
At the finish line you get a bottle of water, a banana and a fairly basic medal, but considering all of the money from this event is going to charity it’s completely understandable (I prefer it to those from the Great Run series).
The local support was good considering it was out in the sticks and having a good friend there to support made it even better!
There were some safety issues to consider. The route is not closed off to other users, so you will get walkers, runners and cyclists on the same sections. I very nearly fell over a dog except for a last minute jump.
All in all it’s a decent event on a very scenic course with great views and i’d Happily run it again.