← Conquer24 Castle Hill

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Silver Visor

18 reviews

4.3

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· 2021 24.00 Hours (ht) ·

Overall a great race experience considering this was the organisers first 24 hour event.

I'll start with the few negatives which are far outweighed by the positives and basically just a few teething problems. The pre race breifing was delayed (not a huge problem as we still started on time). On the first lap, a missing marshal lead to almost the entire field of runners coming to a standstill at a point at a point where there were several different paths but no sign to indicate which way. This was quickly resolved. Could have done with more water refill points nearer the camping section. Signage to the race wasn't clear. I think in future years it would be useful to prioritise solo runners who have come without support to park nearer - this applied to me. The car parking right by the camping area was full when I got there which was supposed to be prioritised for those that were using their vehicles as their 'tents' for sleeping, food, drinks, change of clothes etc - however, it appeared that hardly anyone chose this option and most of the people parked there had lots of supporters with them.

As for the rest - all very positive. Managed to set up my tent and everything I needed within about 50 meters of the start / finish - this was the case for most of the solo runners and even the relay teams were all pretty close. The race commentator was brilliant and mentioned everyone who crossed the line on every lap (apart from a quiet period during the early hours). There was a great atmosphere with live bands playing, music from the commentory box, and a load of food vans. Unfortunately due to covid there were limited options at the aid stations but this was understandable. All the marshals and volunteers were amazing and really encouraging.

There was great cameraderie between runners. Apart from the incident on the first lap, the course was really well marked and during the night time hours it was arguably even easier to follow due to solar lights and illuminous signage that was put out. 

The 5 mile loop came up a little short on my Garmin and Strava app on my phone which was a little off-putting but with the twists and turns and some parts through trees then a bit of GPS discrepancy can be expected. Each lap included about 400 feet of elevation with a couple of steep hills thrown in and various terrain. I managed with road shoes fine although it would only have taken a couple of days of rain to require trail and would have been an even tougher course. The course was stunning in terms of scenery and helpfully there loads of unique sections so it was easy to break down which is needed when doing laps of the same course. Some beautiful colourful garden sections, views of the esturary at the top section of the lap, plus you run through Powderham Castle each time. 

A fantastic event and race experience.

 

Gareth thank you so much for your valued feedback and great review. We will look to make Conquer24 even better in 2023! Maybe see you at the start line! but if not we wish you all the best with your endeavors. :) - Warrior Chimps