The rescheduled Westonbirt 10K finally took place on Sat 30th December at Midday after succumbing to the earlier snowfall at the start of the month.

On that occasion I must give huge thanks to the organisers DB Max events for their prompt reaction to the postponement by emailing, texting and posting on social media the cancellation so everyone was aware and didn’t need to travel. You also had the option to transfer your place over or roll it over into 2018 at one of the same events.

To register for the event was straightforward and the entry cost very respectable & affordable. The race numbers (including chip on reverse)  were posted out in plenty of time for the event. 

As I arrange the pace team I arrived at 10.20am to ensure I was there and ready to welcome the pace team that I had asked to be there for 11am to ensure everything ran smoothly.

On approaching the venue clear visual arrows signage was very helpful to go with the Sat Nav code earlier sent out . On arrival we were directed by helpful marshals to the rear of the house and parked on tarmac within the grounds. The beauty of the location, my first time here was truly wonderful and an added bonus. The parking was supposed to be in front of the main house on the grass but severe rainfall had made the fields very wet so they decided to park as many on Tarmac before using the remaining field as little as needed.

They had a well organised baggage area within the hall where you also collected your race numbers for those that signed up late or transferred over from the cancellation.

Up & Running also had trainers on sale within the hall for any last minute bargains. 

In the adjacent hall was the food area for those that had pre-ordered food (Turkey bap, mince pies & mulled wine, coffee) as the original sit down Christmas meal had unfortunately been cancelled and fully refunded within a few days of the postponement. You could also purchase on the day of you wanted.

I noticed lots of toilets on site for the expected field which is always an added bonus.

I had arranged to have the pace team at the finish line for 11.30am for photos and introduction to the runners via the PA system and event announcer which went to plan.

The race briefing was clear and concise and good humoured and ended with the pacers been introduced and sent to the start line so the runners could follow accordingly and be in the correct pens, this went extremely well I must say so big praise there.

The race started on time, albeit in very windy conditions as we left the Westonbirt site and headed out into the surrounding country roads. These roads were not closed but extremely well marshalled and as I paced the 65 min group I was instructing and shouting out ahead/behind to ‘keep right car coming’ which ensured there were no dramas in my group.

Route itself is 2 loops predominantly Tarmac and paths (out and back) with a gentle climb 1.5k to 2.5k before a nice downhill part back into the fabulous grounds - a small section through woodland that was a little slippery before finishing up a few steps directly in front of the house - nice touch. Water station if needed was at half way within the grounds just before you started the second loop.

The medal as always from organisers #dbmaxevents is to die for incorporating a bottle opener into the bottom of the Christmas themed medal, bottled water, flapjack and sweets. You could then get an immediate print out of your finish time which I always feel is a great personal touch when you’ve just finished as not everyone I see running wears a watch.

I brought my pace group home within the allocated time as did all our pace team so there were lots of happy PB runners at the end.

Even though I organise the #dbmaxpaceteam I can categorically recommend you try one of their events, they are extremely well organised, affordable and exceptionally friendly. Please don’t just take my word have a look at the reviews they receive on racecheck.com or directly from their social media sites dbmax.co.uk 

Hopefully see you at one or more of their events so myself and our #dbmaxpaceteam can guide you home with level pacing and a nice PB

Gaz