Having spoken to other friends, who had run the race in July, I knew to wear trail shoes for the race and also what to expect elevation wise. Given the bad weather all week it was a must but something a lot of runners probably weren't aware of. We received a text message on the morning of the race to say it was delayed by an hour, which was useful for those who hadn't set off yet.

The car park I ended up in was a bit of a walk from the start point. There could have been more signs to separate where the triathletes and 10K/Half runners went to pick up their race packs. It was fast becoming a bit of mud bath with people trampling the grass in the busiest areas so you had to be careful where you placed your feet. The registration area for the 10K/Half was in a different place from the finish area because of the layout for the triathlon transition area. In warmer weather that is not a problem but given how cold and wet the conditions were it's not ideal having to walk a fair way away to get your kit and dry off. 

The race briefing, which is located outside Hever Castle, was very thorough. As one of the pacers, we were introduced to everyone at the front. It would have been nice if all the pacers had tshirts, as someone had to scramble to find us one and a couple didn't have any at all to make them stand out.

The half marathon was two laps billed as 10.5km each in and around Hever and Chiddingstone areas. The mud made conditions really difficult the whole way round. Lap 1 was bad enough but by the time I headed out for lap 2 it was getting really treacherous underfoot. I soon found myself falling off the pace I was trying to maintain and had to apologise for not being able to keep it up. I asked one of the marshals to call it in for me, which they did straight away. By the time the finish line came up it was measuring almost a mile longer than 13.1 miles so my attempt at pacing would have been in vain. The fuelling stations were just right (6 opportunities to refuel on the half) but there could have been more marshals along the route. My colleague, who was running the race as well, said he was waiting 15 minutes after he injured himself for someone to come take him to the medical tent. It was also worrying that he was told that a high number of people injured themselves in exactly the same place he fell. Certainly more marshals in strategic places on the course would have been ideal in those conditions to prevent a high number of injuries. There were a few pinch points in places, which made it difficult for the faster runners and triathletes to pass safely. But there's no denying that the scenery was lovely.

The post race refuelling table was well stocked with fruit, cake and waffles. The medal, although small, was a nice design. If you wanted a tshirt you had to pay extra. I didn't get much of a chance to explore the event village afterwards because of trying to locate my colleague and making sure the group I came to the race with were ok.

The race has potential to be something great but there are some changes that need to be considered should the weather be bad again.