This was my second year running the York 10k and is by far my favourite of the Run For All 10k series. As all of this series, the organisation for the most part is excellent and far superior to that of other races I have done. It's easy to find your position in the start area and the predicted times are well marked out.

The baggage drop was very easy and quick both for drop off and collection. The race village is also well equipped but perhaps a few more stalls wouldn't go amiss. 

Similar to last year (and the rest of the run for all races I've done this year) there have been nowhere near enough toilets. Thankfully I went early on when I arrived, but couldn't make a last minute pit stop before heading to the start due to the sheer number of people waiting. The lines were so long I started to limit my water intake prior to the start as I was nervous about having to go and not being able to because there wasn't time. There is certainly space for more toilets and it is desperately needed, especially with participant numbers increasing like they are.

The numbers were much higher this year than last year, and this was very apparant once you started running. There are sections of the course, especially in the first 4km that are very narrow (some streets still have cars parked on them making a narrow street that much more narrow) and with a number of turns this can make navigation quite difficult. It at times felt like it was bordering on a safety issue. There were a number of times I was cut off going around a turn, and had to stop suddenly, or weave quickly to try and get around a number of people.

The water stations really need to be sorted out for the remaining races and definitely for next year. They were slightly oddly placed, there were not enough marshalls handing out water which resulted in a number of people having to stop and wait for water and the twist cap bottles are next to impossible to drink from (resulting in a number of runners stopping in the middle of the road to take a drink). I don't know why they don't use the squirt bottls which are much safer and easier to use, and would help to prevent the carnage that occurred yesterday. You'd expect water to be on the ground at a water station, but not that much and it made the surface very slick. 

I was really disappointed (as I have been for all my Run For All races this year) with the quality and lack of photos. There are plenty of photographers on course, who never appear to be taking photographs when I pass them. I had a grand total of 3 taken along the entire route, all of which came at York Minister. With the number of photographers that were on the finishing straight, you would have expected at least 1 photo but there were none. Of my last 4 Run For All races, the photographs have been incredibly poor both in quality and number. I don't understand why they continue to use the same company when I know of a number of other runners who make similar complaints. The photos are incredibly expensive to buy, and can be a big momento for somebody. I really enjoy getting race photographs, but it is really disappointing when there are so few, the quality is poor and they are ridiculously expensive. During the Shrewsbury Half I had 70+ photographs and they were all free! They were all of high quality, and in a wide variety of locations. I really think Run For All could take a page out of their book.

As ever with this series of runs, and especially in York the support is second to none. I do think York has the best support hands down of any 10k I've done (and any race aside from maybe Manchester Marathon). There are very few spaces on the route where you can't see any spectators, and they are absolutely fabulous going by York Minster (really missed hearing the bells this year) and going towards the finish. 

The route aside from it being too narrow and too many tight turns in spots, is incredibly scenic and really does show you the best of York. Although with the tight turns and number of runners, it can be difficult to take it in. It still is by far one of the most scenic races I've done so far. 

The t-shirt, medal and goody bag as ever were great. The free medal engraving is also a really nice touch. That being said, as with the toilets lines were again a massive issue. With the number of runners and offering free medal engraving, you really need to have more engraving machines going. The organisers also appeared to be playing catch up with organising the line (as they have been in my other run for all races this year). 

Overall it is a really great race with real PB potential. The crowd support and scenic route alone is enough of a reason to sign up to this race. There are a few things that the race organisers need to work out and are fairly simple and easy improvements. If they are able to do this, it really would add to the overall experience.