Race on the Chase

Brilliant, much needed fun. This is the second time I’ve had the pleasure to Run one of Mike’s half marathons, and they have both been such fun. Low key, friendly, well organised and varied terrain. You can tell the event is tried and tested by someone who loves running, and wants their competition to reflect the best things about running- freedom and fun. Rain didn’t put us off, Covid didn’t put us off, we all just got on with it and enjoyed some much needed mud splashing! Route easy to follow and electronic timing a great update. Thank you!

Tough but fair. To put my review in perspective I'm 63, quite experienced (but not a great fan of) off road events. This run = 4hrs 42mins. Rain for several days and rain on the day + quite a chill wind. Good conditions underfoot - mainly run on wide(ish) and firm, farm - track type paths. Some narrower footpaths in fields and amongst trees, some largish puddles.... it is an off road event! Hills? Nothing to make you cry or swear! Inclines more than anything; I walked on 3 desperate occasions during the event. View/surroundings: course takes you beside/through Salisbury racecourse + along a historic drovers road + Martin Down Nature Reserve + Broadchalke village. Plenty of trees(!). Efficient start and finish to this small/local non-pressured event: Car parking 1 minute from undercover registration + friendly organisers. Issued a small electronic dibber (technical term) which you dib to start and again to finish. We started when we had sorted ourselves out and received the dibber, no mass start. Loos at start + plenty of undergrowth en route. 3 or so water stations with 'bits and bobs' - 🍌, gels, water. The course is QUITE well marked - just keep your wits about you - several folk had short detours. My Garmin (and other folk) measured course at 45k.... mentally prepare for the extra distance. I wore Jajenji (Decathlon own brand) off road shoes for 'hard surfaces'. Nothing 'hard-core' required. I would (will) certainly consider this event again for next year.

Average at best. I don't like leaving negative reviews, as I'm aware of the effect they can have on a small business, and i know 2020 has been a rough year. But if I'm honest, this wasn't a great event. Ive done probably over 100 events now as an amateur runner and this is the only time I've been left feeling underwhelmed by one. Pros + A nice route in lovely county side + The team member i met were very friendly Cons - I had to chase and chase again for my race details. It was only the night before the race at around 8pm i even knew what time i had to be there and when my slot was. I got a response after emails, messages and texts and after asking for a refund i then received my info. - The course wasn't laid out/sign posted well. I was only running the 10k so i was fine,but i saw a few people miss signs and i was shouting to help. My wife was waiting for me at the "Finish line" (I'll come back to that) and said that there had been a lot of marathon distance runners arrive who were lost and hadn't seen signs telling them where to spilt. It was all a bit of a mix up and confusing. - The "Finish Line" was a chip reader on a stick at the top of a hill. Easy to miss. And i did. It was only because a small group of people where there that shouted that id gone past it that i knew i had finished the race. No "FINISH" sign. No "100m to go" sign. All a bit bland and lacked effort or clarity. - Both my phone and my running watch tell me that i had in fact run well over 10k. And in fact i'd run 6.7 Miles. (perhaps this was just me, but i followed the flow and don't think i missed any signs personally) I know these events are seldom spot on, but i attended this for a timed 10k and i didn't really it. - The whole event lacked any atmosphere. No music, or warm ups, or.... anything? To me, thats what these events are about. If i wanted to run on my own, i could save myself the £25 entry fee and do that. - And finally, after the finish line. The medal 'Station' or what ever it would be called. I basically walked into a barn. There was a unopened bag of medals and no staff. So i stood around for a bit, ended up opening the bag to help myself to a medal, and just went home. Over all, i enjoyed the run. But its the details that make it worth attending and paying for a space at an event like this. Again, nice team (those i met) but I'm guessing there were 2, 3 staff? At the whole event? Maybe extra marshall's, a few extra signs, and play some music or something to get people going and it might be better. Did i enjoy the race? Yes. Will i return to this event? No.