Pros: The crowds were excellent, they really spurred me on when I was flagging and the bands dotted along the course were a welcome distraction. 

Starting and finishing at Hampton Court was lovely and it was surprisingly easy to find free street parking nearby.

Brilliantly flat course, mostly along the banks of the Thames, great for first HM or PB chasers.

Cons: Running through the town was less than picturesque and a bit of a slog but running across an uneven field for the last 1-2 km was soul destroying, your energy is already flagging and now you need to watch each step to avoid turning an ankle on the homeward stretch, I would have preferred the field to be at the start.

I signed up to this HM as my first believing there was no cut off time, but 2 weeks before the event, I received an email saying anyone who could not finish within 3 hours would be collected by the sweeper bus. I nearly pulled out of the race altogether at the prospect of running 19-20k only to DNF. If there is a cut-off time this should be made abundantly clear before they take your payment.