This was my first outing at the Run Reigate event and I had opted for the 10km race. Knowing the team behind it and that its had great reviews I was looking forward to having a crack at this event. It only took me 20minutes to arrive and I parked in the Canon HQ which was well signposted. The Run Reigate Team had done a great job of producing a map of car parks in advance and I was more than happy to pay £3 to park knowing it was going to the main charity the race was supporting. A quick 10 minute walk up the hill and you cannot miss Priory Park were the race was to start and event village was located. I had had some issues with my number so had to get a replacement, this was quick and easy to do and the Run Reigate Team were efficient, friendly and helpful. There were no on the day 10km entries, but, you could enter the half on the day, I am not sure about the 5k. The event village was good, lots of places to grab a coffee or something to eat, the bag drop was well staffed and there seemed to be plenty of toilets when I went to use them. The compare on the stage was good but it wasn't big that you couldn't find people! Having bumped into a few club members and friends, we headed to the start. The 10km start was 15 minutes before e start of the half. We easily moved through the races in the start pen and got quite near to the front, after a few words from the race director, including a safety briefing, we were off. I purposefully had not looked too much at the route this time as I might normally do, I was going to run and enjoy the race. Once out of the park you immediately take on the first of a number of climbs of this undulating route. It felt a bit mean so early in but, once at the top there was a lovey downhill stretch to find your pace. The route heads south along the A217 towards Hookwood, at the 3km mark you turn back on your self but only for just under 1km, I liked this as was able to see other runners I knew and support them. A left turn at around 4km and you start to head out via the residential area to the more rural lanes of the course. There were two water stations on the course, manned by volunteers from the local schools and cadets, just after the water stations were great big skip bags to throw them in an signs to drop the bottles in the bins, this pleased me as I hate to see the mess of bottles all over the roads! The route was undulated all the way but there and being a predominately single lap route you never know if you will be treated to some nice recovery time but whilst there was a fair amount of climbing to do, there were also some nice down and flatter sections. I enjoyed the testing nature of the course and the rural roads. Sussex Sport Photography were also out on course snapping away. About a half a mile to the finish you meet the worst of the climbs, I had been warned about this so I dug in deep and kept the legs turning. Once at the top, a pretty steep descent towards the park which helped with finding my lungs and then a right turn into the park and about 600m to go. The finish through the park, through a funnel is really nice, next stop the finish line gantry! The race gets good local support in the more town based sections, its quiter out on the rural lanes but only to be expected. The marshals were very encouraging all along the course. After getting through the finish you are quickly handed a nice medal, fab technical t-shirt and some water, we also were given buffs this year and a banana. Whilst this race is only 5 years old, it feels like it has been around longer. Local businesses are in support of it, charities get a chance to promote their causes and for a £5 charity donation, you got more than £5 worth of a post-race massage. This was never going to be a PB for me but, even on a testing and undulating course, I know a fair few people who were able to get PBs so it is possible, its not crowed which helps. Safe to say, this one gets the thumbs up from me and I am sure I will be back next year!