Ok, where do I start?
After much deliberation I entered Gloucester Marathon quite late on.
Entry fee was very expensive. Just checked my email. It cost £52 to enter marathon, plus a 'processing fee' of £4.38. At £56.38 in total, this is possibly the most expensive race I have ever entered.
There was a promise of a flat course, finishers medal, vest & bag. It looked a decently organised event so I thought, why not.
Registration was simple enough with regular emails to participants.
Race number was collection only so I arrived at HQ the day before the race.
Here lies the first problem -
Along wiith race number we were also given out finishers vest.
This is a complete no-no for me. No finishers prizes should ever be given until AFTER a race. I bundled it into my bag and refused to even look at it.
Race day itself had a good atmosphere in and around HQ.
Baggage was straight forward and trouble free.
This race had the HALF or FULL MARATHON option.
Participants of both distances started together with half & full races going their separate ways after about 4miles.
I couldn't see starting waves based on expected finishing times. This wasn't really a problem as I alway start marathons very slowly.
I even don't recall seeing a start line - maybe I just missed it?
The race itself started in city centre and headed out into the countryside.
Race was nowhere near as flat as portrayed by organisers with odd small hills throughout.
There was a fairly big hill around half way but worse was to follow. The mother of all hills met runners at mile 17.
Only option was to walk up this hill from hell.
There were also flat sections so it wasn't all bad.
Some of the terrain in 2nd half of marathon was very taxing on the legs. Rough, bumpy pathways were quite testing. There was also a strange downhill section in final mile which saw runners run down a very steep plank into woodland before heading through area of houses and onto the finishing stretch.
The course was overall, very scenic with superb views for most part.
Local support was very good with plenty of encouragement. Always very welcome when going gets tough.
*****Biggest concern was the water stations. I don't like to criticise organisers too much but this needs addressing.
Water stations were fairly regular especially in 1st half of the marathon distance however on at least two occasions we got to water station to find there was no water left.
This is unacceptable especially given the hot, conditions of the day. This is a health & safety issue so it urgently needs attention.
Marshals were very good as were the crowd support.
Finishers were rewarded with a reasonable medal but finishers bag was very pretty poor.
A muesli bar, small High 5 tablets & plenty of leaflets.
The medal & vest should've been placed in the bag to give it more substance.
**** In summary - Good atmosphere, great support with some lovely scenery to enjoy.
Not as flat as portrayed with some challenging hills & tough terrain to tackle.
Prizes BEFORE race are so wrong.
The water issue needs urgent attention. I'm sure organisers will be aware of this.
Entry fee was VERY high (£56.36 including booking fee) so couple of extra items in finishers bag would've been expected. Poor value in my opinion. Posting race numbers would have also been nice.
Would I do this again? Possibly but I'd expect big improvements for next year.