I was part of the pace team for this event pacing the 5hr full marathon. I didn’t pay to take part so haven’t rated the value for money section. I believe the entry fees are quite high but the location is stunning for running.
The marathon and half marathon are lapped events around the grounds of Hever Castle as part of their Festival of Endurance. There are various multi events taking place at the same time including full 140.6 triathlon races all using the same run course. It does get quite narrow in places and you have to be aware of faster runners approaching from behind and having good course awareness for them.
It was a very hot day and the marathon didn’t start until nearly 10am. It was nice to catch up with a number of #visorclub before the off including the lovely Kat. I was pacing the 5hr group and unlike most events where I would run with a page flag, due to a delivery issue these weren’t available. Makeshift pace sticks to carry were not ideal.
It is a beautiful course around the grounds of Hever Castle with some good pockets of support dotted around. There are some parts on the local roads but majority of the route is trail. There were some distance markers along the route but I think they were aimed at the triathlon and really not helpful for us doing the marathon. For pacing duties I was fully reliant on my watch.
For the first couple of laps I had a number of people running with me (and some doing their first marathons) but as we got in to laps 3 and 4 the group soon disappeared. The second half of the race was pretty much run on my own. I tried to keep the pace consistent and was very happy to get home in 4.58 on a tricky course in tough conditions. To be completely honest I don’t think the event has a big enough field of runners to need pacers but I was delighted to take part in a brilliant location and a very well organised event. The feed stations and marshals were excellent. For the listed entry fees I think the medal is disappointing and there is no finisher t-shirt or goody bag.
Overall, I loved taking part in the event, The Castle Run Series take place in some great locations. The event was superbly organised and with a few tweaks I would definitely take part again. Racecheck offer a number of discount entry codes which is a great bonus.