I booked on to the half last minute but the club were really helpful with my enquiries when I couldn't find my club name listed under the affiliated clubs section of the form. I liked that there was an opt in choice for the medal, as I know not everyone collects them. I also liked that they were wooden. Everyone got a souvenir towel at the end of the race.

Free car parking was in an industrial area about a mile away from the race HQ . Double decker buses were frequently put on at the start and end of the event. The drop off/pick up point is about 10 mins walk away to the start. Race bib pick up with straight forward. The sports hall we were in was a bit small for the amount of runners there but at least we were warm inside. Plenty of toilets, although as always happens there will be queues just before a race starts so I ended up starting nearer the back of the group. Bag drop was in another hall so pretty straight forward. 

The course is an undulating one loop on open roads. The organisers banned all head phones including the bone conducter ones, and had people on hand on the course to disqualify any runners caught using them. This was communicated before the race so everyone was aware. We were very lucky with the roads not being icy and the sun came out for a bit so it wasn't too cold at times. That being said I am very grateful to all the marshals out on the course, who were out there a long time in the cold, as they were so supportive and always smiling. My only bug bear with the course was that the mile markers seemed out all the way along. It could have been a GPS thing as my watch measure 13.2 instead of 13.1 miles.

Water stations provided drinks in biodegradable cups and there were designated drop zones for rubbish along the route. Also a special mention to the ladies at St Mary's Church near race HQ, as they put on a hot drinks and snacks stall outside for runners, volunteers and spectators for free. A few of us offered a small donation in return as gratitude for doing something lovely.