This marathon took place on an exceptionally hot day. The people of Milton Keynes came out to hand out jelly babies, spray competitors down with hoses and a variety of other tricks to keep us cool. However, I feel the organisers should have arranged this kind of thing. There was one area where the fire department and race had arranged for us to get a spray of water. However, we all needed more. I feel like more contingency planning should have gone in to keeping us cool.
The route remains a mixed bag. The underpasses and slight hills can be brutal. Especially past mile 20. In addition, this year competitors were asked to climb stairs at the end of the race in order to leave the arena. That was brutal for people who are exhausted.
What makes this race is the high level of support for us all from the spectators. However, the route still needs some work.