The Cardiff Half Marathon has been a long-standing favourite of mine having Run it for 10 years, so why have I changed my views on this race? And why has it slipped so far down, if not off my favourites list? I have held off from writing this review to be sure in my own mind to remove it from my favourites list, well here goes. I had been looking forward to this event for months, especially having drummed up a great gathering from my running club to participate, the running club I am associated with is predominantly a Trail Running Club, so I therefore thought a road running event will show our members how far they have come and that Trail Running can actually improve their speed on the roads. Being a Cardiff Half veteran I felt well informed to provide others with my experiences and to get them motivated enough to train for and attend the event, so after beefing it for so long, I must say this year has disappointed me, however I do know this is not the view from my members, but this is for many their first Cardiff Half. On the lead up to the event I received quite a few emails asking me to participate in a survey, the old subject of public transport was on there asking if we would use it? The answer is always yes!! However, time and time again the transport (trains, busses) do not arrive into Cardiff until after the event has started?? Surely this is something that the transport provider should be looking at and working with the event organiser and if it cannot be arranged then delay the start by 30 mins or so. I only live 30 minutes away by train and yet they still cannot get it right!! If you want to be on the world stage and compete with the big boys, then this surely should be an easy fix to get people to the start as environmentally friendly as possible and on time, its not rocket science, take a leaf out of the London marathons book who put on free train and bus travel to get everyone with a race number to the start. That’s enough about my distain for the transport system, now onto the baggage debacle, OK I get that security checks need to be carried out in today’s climate, I do I get it!! Probably more than most being Ex Military, But please put some thought into funneling people into the checking gates and doing 100% searches, surely unless you have been given intelligence of an imminent attack then surely this should be random? Also more information should be given saying that everyone will be subject to 100% bag searches and to allow enough time to filter through the checking gates. OK lets get on with the race itself, so after finally dropping off my bag I headed to the coloured pens to get underway, to get to the green pen I headed down along the Castle wall, when we were told that we had to go around, despite the map sent out with our numbers showing otherwise, so this resulted in many participants ignoring the marshal and just walking past her. While in the relevant pen, there was enough time to soak in the race atmosphere and the fire cannons along the front of the castle which is always a nice touch. So, without further ado the race started along the familiar route that I have run in previous years taking in the sites of Penarth Marina, The Barrage, the Senedd, Roath Park etc. It is always a bit of a tussle at the start where many try and get into a stride, this happens in most races and doesn’t really bother me because it’s only a few seconds which can be made up later in the race, mind you this year I found that many people had lied about their finish times to get in a faster pen to try and avoid the tussle, but doing this just causes more issues for the faster runners having to negotiate getting passed – Guys please do not do this, its frustrating!! Unfortunately, the organisers can do little about this if people lie on the application form. The residents and staff from the Care Home looking onto Roath Park were out in force, this is a part I really look forward to, it really does give me a boost before heading for the little hill under the railway bridge. I also noticed that there were more roadside bands laid on by charities, homes, pubs and shops also doing their bit to entertain the runners, which was nice to see. Pros: - Great Venue - Well-marked route - Well stocked aid stations - Volunteers #awesome - Toilets – plenty, but some still moan - Plenty for supporters to do - Runners village well stocked Cons: - Public Transport - Meh - 100% bag searches without prior knowledge – Meh - Over commercialised (IMO) - Meh - Pen jumpers – Double Meh So overall not a great experience for me this year, will probably take some convincing for me to sign up again if I’m honest, sort the transport links and the baggage out and I may rethink!! My final word must go to those supporters, spectators and volunteers, a high five for you all #youramazing