Second time. Has to be my favourite shorter trail race. The course is approximately 11km from South Shield pier to the pier on Roker Beach, Sunderland. Starts with 4-500m on the beach and ends with a similar distance on the beach the other end. Inbetween it follows the coastal path, along the cliff tops, most of the uphill in the first half. It does get a bit congested in the first 2 or 3 km, even on the very wide beach, but may be no bad thing, it saves going off too fast especially on the climbs. Lots of very supportive marshals along the route, it would be hard to go wrong, but with the marshals it's impossible to go the wrong way. There is a bus, for a small fee, to get people from the finish up to the start. Plenty of buses, very smooth operation. Brilliant pre race information, on the website, by email and an information sheet in the post sent out with the number. It includes everything you could possibly want to know about the race. It is really popular locally and sells out very quickly. They allow on line transfers right up to the day before the race, which is a brilliant thing. Hopefully it stops people swapping numbers, without notification and potentially messing up the age category results etc. Having finished the course, then comes the goodie bag, which has a reputation for being great as it always includes things that are different and useful. This year they have exceeded themselves. It was a very useful backpack, a pint glass (with the lighthouse on it), a can of themed lager from the local brewery, crisps, Mars bar, energy gel, and a little glass momento. Also a race tshirt. At the finish there are plenty of cafe's etc to eat and drink. I enjoyed a particularly good ice cream. A great space to socialise with other runners or family that may have come along to support. Organised by Sunderland Strollers running club. Great value for money.