I was delighted to join the official pace team on behalf of Duracell and Great Run for this event leading home the 1.50 group. I didn’t pay to enter the race so haven’t rated the value for money, now I’ve done it I would be happy to pay the required entry fee. Great Run put on big city events and they are busy but well organised. Birmingham itself has a lot of building and road work happening so the logistics around the city are not the easiest. Registration for the pace team was a short walk from the start which is all based directly on Broad Street, on a truly wet and miserable day it was nice to be able to grab a coffee in the pub directly outside the starting pens. Great Run tend to use buses lined up by the start area for bag drop, you pick a bus and leave your bag on there, it is then lined up near the finish area for you to help yourself to your bag. I was leading the 1.50 group and we had a good group running with us for the whole course. It was a changed route for 2018 with quite a large downhill stretch right from the off, overall the feedback was positive for the course changes. The route is fairly central through Birmingham taking in some parks and the cricket ground. The aid stations and marshals were excellent (it rained the whole day) and it was great to see a number of visorclub members running and pacing too. A fairly flat course with a few ups and downs I was very happy to guide my group home in 1.49.46 with quite a few high-fives and PB’s at the finish. The finish area was quite busy as we collected a nice medal and goody bag including a technical t-shirt. On a cold wet day the walk to the bus/bag collect wasn’t ideal and I didn’t see much of a changing facility which should be a must for these big events. The finish area is a bit of a trek from the start area so be prepared for a walk afterwards. I loved pacing this event and my first visit to Great Birmingham Run, I would recommend to others.