← Gunpowder Plot 10km

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1.9

gold-star gold-star empty-star empty-star empty-star
· 2018 10km ·

Pretty poorly organized event this one. From the start when we arrived there was nobody to tell us where to park and then in the actual race I ended up going the wrong way and not finishing the race. The first time this has ever happened to me, even in ultras I've managed to find my way around. The problem I had was the path branched and a marshall was there taking pictures of the people at the back of the race instead of pointing the front runners in the right direction. I run without my glasses and the guy ahead of me was a fair bit ahead so I couldn't see where he had gone, I went right and a few minutes down the road I realized I'd gone the wrong way, race over. I understand this is a smaller race with fewer marshalls but a few cones or flags would have been great. And at 18 quid it's not all that cheap so a bit more looking after the runners would have been welcome. Definitely the most poorly organized race I've done this year and not one I'd rush to do again.

Hi there. I am very sorry to hear about your experience at the event. I will respond to each point separately. Firstly, in relation to parking - there is no actual car park for the event. There is free on road parking nearby and as there are so many different routes to the venue and local streets which runners use to park, this is impossible to marshal. The parking situation is clearly stated on the race entry booking system, as is the address of the race HQ (including a map). The roads where you can park for free are detailed on the race instructions, as is the address of the race HQ, which are sent to all runners via e-mail before the event and are included on our Facebook page. In relation to you going to the wrong way, I am extremely sorry that this happened and I have spoken with my team regarding the situation. This is a route that we use for several events and we have not had the situation occur before. It is a lapped route, which is marshalled and signposted where necessary. A map of the route is posted on our social media pages for each event and several copies of the route are displayed on our registration desk on the morning of the race. The route is also explained in the race briefing 10 minutes before the race. The route is 2 laps of a 3 mile clockwise loop and I understand that you took a wrong turn on your second lap, so you would have already run the full course once. At the junction where you refer, there is a marshal (as you confirm above) and there is also a yellow direction arrow placed in the middle of the junction. There are only 2 options at this junction - left or right. I understand that you turned right (anti-clockwise) rather than left and began to run against the flow of the runners before realising your mistake. There was a marshal present, and whilst he was taking photographs, he is there to help and had you asked him to clarify the route, he would have gladly assisted. Also, there is a further marshal posted some 80 metres away (at the turning before). I understand that you spoke with him and he pointed you in right direction but rather than continue with the race, you chose to return to the start and withdraw from the event. You did not speak with me when withdrawing from the race, nor have you contacted me since the event so this is the first time you have made me aware of the issues you encountered. In relation to the cost of the event, I feel that we offer very good value for money. All runners receive a bespoke medal, a goody bag filled with chocolate and we provide homemade cakes (for free) to all runners at the end of the event. There are two drinks stations per lap. Our race HQ also includes ample toilets, changing facilities and showers (all free to use). We also provide chip timing which many of the smaller events do not provide. We are always continuing to make improvements to our events and provide the best runner experience possible. We will of course take your feedback on board and this has already been relayed to the team. As you can see from our other reviews and also our Facebook reviews and comments, we generally receive extremely good feedback and we would therefore encourage you to come back to try another event in 2019. Kind regards. Joni, See York Run York - See York Run York