Before I begin this review, I have taken part in this series before, just not this one- I did the October one. 

I was due to do the 15k 'fun run', and drove through heavy sleet along with the rest of the runners. The location means that there are lots of people arriving by car. Due to another event they ask for runners to arrive no earlier that 11.30am. I was due to arrive at 11.36 (according to the Sat nav!) however there were huge queues to get in to the grounds and I didn't park up until 12.10. (the race originally was due to start at 12.30). Last time the queues were not this bad, I can only assume that the weather had an impact on this. It seemed really chaotic as the marshal directing didn't seem to know what was going on. 

I ran to the bib/ chip queue and started waiting- people in the queue were saying that the HM was cancelled, but there was a real lack of information. After queueing for about 10 minutes a marshal started moving along the queue and told us that the 15k was cancelled and we could either do the 10k or defer our entries. Since I had driven to the venue and had mentally prepared to run, I decided to do the 10k. I continued to wait in the queue. 

Once in the tent it was very disorganised, there were people sheltering, which didn't help and the queue didn't move for ages, it turned out we could have moved to the far end of the table. 

Bib collected and chip atrtached I started warming up. It wasn't clear what time the start would be- they had said now it was 1pm, but there were rumours of 1.30pm. I warmed up near the start, and watched to see when it was starting. I couldn't hear the pre race briefing, but we had to start in a single file as there wasn't a timing mat, so we had to go past the chip reader one at a time. 

Once started the course is a lovely flat 5k loop. The paths are wide and easy to navigate. there is an aid station with water and gels about half way. Although they are not really needed for a 5k or 10k.

With all the pressure off, I was thrilled to get a massive 10k PB. So I was really pleased with the outcome. 

The medal is nice and substantial. There is also water at the finish. 

The marshals did their best to cheer us around, despite the weather and the difficulties. 

I understand that the race organisers had a difficult decision to make, based on the events earlier in the day and medical cover. They need to consider the organisational aspects around the parking and access. The communication on the day was pretty poor and it was hard to know what was going on. 

Would I have driven all the way there for a 10k, probably not. However would I have done it for a massive PB. Of course. 

I don't know what else to say really- there were a lot of unhappy runners, the weather was awful. The team did their best, but they could have done better I think.