This is a very difficult race to review for reasons which will become obvious. 

Lets start with the many positives.

This was first time this race has taken place, and what a fantastic addition to the EHM weekend of racing. 

Registration was simple enough. 

Baggage was spot on. 

Atmophere was superb. 

Race setting looked fantastic with start/finish line at Victoria Park Athletics track all lit up. 

There was a bit of a queue for people who'd ordered t-shirts but nothing to worry about.

All good thus far.

Many of the runners lined up wearing head torches. (I need to invest in one myself).

Race started at the track, had a bit of a trail/grassy middle section before finishing with a lap of the track. 

Race was a bit congested at first but was ok once field spread out.

It was nice flat course.

Now for the (big) negative.

*** I'm sorry to have to mention this but it was a major issue, and disappointment  of the night.

As we entered the stadium for the finish, I knew we were way short of the 5k so assumed it must finish with 2 laps of the track. Sadly this was not the case.

The course was accurately measured but  somehow the runners took wrong turning and missed section resulting in the route being 4K instead of the 5k.

I've been told this was down to an error by a race marshal or no marshal at a key part of the course to direct runners.

Either way, organisers have to take full responsibility and it spoilt what should have been a brilliant event.

I actually carried on running until I'd passed 5k distance. I saw many other runners who did the same.

I spoke to officials who were very upset & apologetic.

We're all human. We all make mistakes.

Going back to the positives- Finishers were rewarded with an absolutely fantastic medal, beer & food. 

I'm teetotal so gave my pint of the fantastically named 'Runners Ruin' beer to a fellow runner.

Once again there was a nice post-race atmosphere. People clearly enjoyed the event.

In summary this race will go from strength to strength. 

It was a super event and a nice start to what was a fantastic weekend of running events. 

The short course was a massive, massive disappointment- there's no glossing over that. 

Im sure organisers are as disappointed as the runners. Harsh lessons will be learnt and next year's event will be awesome. 

Would I do this race again?

Absolutely.