Overall the Big Half was a good race, but it was expected considering the organisers having plenty of experience between them putting on big events like this in central London. I was taking it on as part of my marathon training ahead of London so the anticipation was high to get a taster of the London Marathon route, even if backwards.
Pre-race
I was green start so started at the north of the river at Tower Hill. Whilst understandable to manage numbers in each area, the strictness of the starting colours were disappointing as our group were split across the two and weren't able to meet up before the race.
The baggage drop (just before 8am) was straight forward and there were plenty of loos ahead of the race. The start pens were organised pretty well, but as there were no speakers in the pens it was impossible to hear what was actually going on while waiting to start and it felt like it was dragging on forever before it was our time to set off.
The Race
The route itself was nice, there's not many London races that take in the Docklands, and although a novelty to run through the tunnel, I'm glad it was early on as it zapped a bit of energy, the man with the music at the exit of the tunnel was very much welcome!
From Tower Bridge heading south there were a couple of difficult miles as it felt like all the excitement of the north side was over and it was a long way to Greenwich!
There were plenty of marshalls along the course and at the water stations, no complaints there, but Lucozade in cups is still a pet hate - it's impossible to run with without wearing half of it, even for a short period of time! And certain marshalls could do with a lesson in motivation - telling the runners they're "looking good but running very slow" is NOT appreciated at mile 9! But the majority were very supportive and enthusiastic.
The finish stretch in Greenwich was lovely, the support along the last 500m or so was exceptional.
Post-race
The finish line was well managed and the foil blankets at the end were very welcome. The goody bag was pretty poor (water, lucozade, green cola, tshirt and a Kind bar), could really have done with a protein bar or a banana or something similar.
The walk to collect the baggage was very long and the organisation at the green trucks at the busy time was poor. They couldn't find bags and it took a long time to even get the attention of a volunteer to look for it.
The medal was different and fun but the finisher's tshirt was pretty basic, nothing exciting at all. If anything a bit childish.
Would I do this race again... as a Londoner with plenty of options on my doorstep, probably not.