The race itself was great and I'd recommend it - my issues were with getting to the start line and getting going.

To start with I'd failed to buy the 'VIP parking' before it sold out, though the official advice was then 'find parking on the industrial estate'. For an event of this magnitude there really ought to be better coordination with local businesses and parks to ensure there is sufficient parking relativelty nearby, or do as Stevenage do and have parking far away with a bus to deliver athletes. I arrived in MK at 8.50am (for a 10am start) and it took me 20 minutes of queueing in the town to find a parking spot, which was on the pavement so feared I may get a ticket (everyone else was parking there), so that was a bit stressful. At the arena it was unclear where the bag drop was and took a bit of exploration to find. At the start line people were opening the security barriers to change pens, then when our pen left half started going and were then told to go back. Having crossed the chip start we were then told to go back before then starting, which was a bit of a farce.

Once we got going the race was great. I was surprised by the strength of local support, which was excellent, especially in the final third giving out jelly babies etc. The course was well signed, though a bit frustrating at the beginning where it zig zags and you see the quicker runners coming in the opposite direction at mile 5 while you're passing mile 2. 

Water stations were plentiful and well manned, which is good and prevents crowding at the start. Some of the latter stations had gels, though it was a bit unclear which would have and which wouldn't. One even had bananas.

It was quite scenic. You start centrally and it feels like a big city run. You split from the half runners around mile 6, and going round the lake and through the parks is nice. Although it's not hilly there's quite a lot of up and down later on going through the underpasses. Pointing you to the local landmarks like the Buddhist temple and the windmill was a nice touch. Milton Keynes is a bit bland though and the whole town is a bit samey, so it doesn't really feel like you're going to new areas. There's plenty of greenery mixed with urban surrounds and going along the cancal is nice, but the different areas of the town are generally fairly indistinguishable.

The finish was nice heading into the stadium and doing a lap, and the medal and T shirt were great. Water and bananas were plentiful too. I'd do it again, though think the congestion accessing the race start and the parking really need to be addressed. A bus to the start or agreeing for the industrial estate car parks to open would largely solve this - as a race director myself I appreciate the huge costs involved, but for an event with 4,000 runns that really ought to be managable.