A Marathon that I always wanted to try, I finally pressed the button and booked it! The videos of the route looked amazing. Booking-in was easy enough: no numbers are posted, so I popped in on the Saturday to get my number, and was only minutes before walking out with a number! You can collect Sunday, but I would say this is to be avoided if you can. Heard a lot about traffic and parking, but I found this fine both days. Not an event to leave for at the last minute, but leaving sensible time-I left hotel 2 hours before start, 20 mins away, and was there in good time. The start has a great village, with a real festival feel. Lots of music, stands and a very energetic warm-up!! The route itself: the first few miles are a real treat, running through the forest, stunning. The terrain is very mixed, not one for your best runners. You do get some inclines deeper into the race, and a few miles towards the end you get thrown into moorland alongside a road: this bit is potentially soul-destroying! Tough navigating uneven land and traffic on the roads: I’d really love to see the organisers find an alternative to this latter section. Toilets are infrequent, as just the park ones to call on, and the stops were adequate with plenty of water. Word of warning: You can’t drop anything outside the litter zones, you will be excluded from the race: I personally think this is a brilliant touch, and understandable with the stunning setting. Medal and pre and post-Marathon goodies are nice and thoughtful too. Overall, a unique Marathon and one I’d recommend. Just remember it’s not a city marathon, mixed terrain, ups and downs, and not much support other than the Forrest explorers.