The Great Run franchise has recently added the Bristol 10k to it's portfolio of races, 2017 was the second time it had been run under the Great Run name, and the usual slick, well organised event that is expected from the group was on hand once again. The entry fee was reasonable and the registration through the Great Run website was straight forward.

Using the same start and finish as the Autumn Great Bristol Half marathon, the flat, 10k course took runners out of the city on an out and back route, twice passing under the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge, before a loop around the harbour and back into the City centre.

Getting to the start line was simple enough, road closures meant that you could not park really close to the race hub in Millennium square, I parked in the Trenchard Street multi story car park behind the Colston Hall and walked about 15 mins to the start which was easy to find. I understand that there was a park and ride bus service arranged as well, which from accounts I heard from other runners was a big success.

The race hub had a small selection of trade stands, and an information tent, with plenty of marshalls to guide runners to the start. A few more toilets at the start would have eased some long queues prior to the race starting, something perhaps that could be addressed for 2018.

I was pacing the event on behalf of Duracell, and decked out in their corporate colours and finished off with a set of fluffy Rabbit ears and tail I took up my place to the easy to find colour coded starting pens which are sorted according to estimated finishing times. The race started bang  on time at 09.30am, with waves setting off at eight minute intervals after the first one got away.The run was chip timed and also gave supporters a chance to track runners via a smartphone app.

The route was well marshalled on closed roads, with accurate (by my GPS watch at least) makers every 1km, one water station at approx 5kms provided bottled water for runners, and there were a number of bands and musicians around the course to make for a carnival feel. Local support was evident in the city parts of the course, big crowds lining the route around the streets, with a handful out on the portway section of the route.

Post race, the usual Great run style goodie bag was on offer, a corded over the shoulder bag with water, tech tee shirt and medal inside, a few leaflets , lindt chocolate bar and a carton of Chocolate milk completed the goodies.

Times were quickly available via the website and app, with offical race phots available a day or two after. One point to mention about the post race events concerns the newly revamped medal for the event. Now being a square shape rather than the round type that Great Run has used for a few years, it follows the same format as other years in having a standard design but personalised with the city location and title. Some runners found that their goodie bags contained medals for the Great Manchester run, rather than Bristol, and there appears to be a small flaw in the manufacture of the medals, as all too often in the runner/spectator meet up area a distinct clanking noise could be heard as time and time again medals fell off the ribbons hung around the necks of their owners and crashed to the floor.

Despite this a very enjoyable run, with a fantatsic course, great support and good atmosphere which would make this a good run to bear in mind for 2018.