The Windsor Half Marathon is set in the iconic Windsor Great Park and has a fantastic atmosphere created by the thousands of spectators who line the Start / Finish mile. There is also more support whilst in the Park than I imagined there would be which was good.

Please attempt to arrive early, as I did, as to avoid queuing to gain access to the large carpark (field). I heard several stories of people leaving partners in cars to park whilst they walked to the starting area.

The start area is well arranged, plenty of facilities and clear indication of the different start waves.

There appeared to be pacers in each of the start areas which is great for those not wanting to be looking at their watch every mile and enjoying the views whist running.

The course is hilly, small inclines followed by small descents so nothing too challenging, the first mile is mostly uphill but the last mile is downhill.

The water stations are positioned one side of the route only, it would have been easier if these were on both sides to ease the congestion. After each water station zone is target practice to see if you can throw the discarded bottle into the large bins, these are positioned on both sides or the route and did a great job of keeping the empty bottles from the course.

The last mile is very deceptive, you round the corner onto the Long Walk and can see the finish line in the distance, it doesn’t seem to get any closer for a long time so it’s best to save some energy. There is plenty of support, encouragement and high fives until you past the finish line where you are greeted with a great medal and can collect your finishers T-shirt.

A fantastic event on a wonderful course, I will look forward to doing this event again.