The race was very well organised and marshalled and there was a duathalon in the afternoon which looks temping for next year! Also there was a team event in the 10k (3 males and 1 female) which Bitton won in 2hrs 59 which we could definately win next year I reckon.

152 - 01:10:46 Ross Opie Southville Runners Senior Men

198 - 01:13:53 Spencer Joseph Vet Men

225 - 01:14:49 Mike Foster Senior Men (Tom bullivant - last minute cover)

261 - 01:16:38 Andrew Gillis Senior Men

289 - 01:18:31 Rob Quinlan Southville Runners Vet Men

489 - 01:30:28 Ben Moore Southville Runners Senior Men

530 - 01:32:32 Paul Grant Southville Runners Senior Men

1035 - 02:26:03 David Braithwaite Southville Runners Vet 50 Men

I am still deciding how much of my kit needs to go in the dustbin.

Well done to all involved however still not sure why the goody bag included a tropical dry shampoo !!!

Nokia Sports Tracker link

Thanks to Rob who slowed his pace to ensure I didn't get lost half way up the mountain! The nice thing about a run like this is the complete disregard of times. It was totally refreshing to do a race where the focus was simply completing it. The environment was challenging and views at the top made it worthwhile (even though this was difficult to realise at the time with my lungs bursting through my chest!).

If you like the great outdoors, these are the runs to do - why not give one a go in the future?

Started and finished @ The Crown Pantygelli (really nice pub).£2.50 entrance fee included sandwiches and sausage rolls.

Run itself was mainly on footpaths however very steep in places.Finished well down the field but "enjoyed" the run with fantastic views across the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains.Check out our Twitter site for our photos at the top of the Sugar Loaf

Well organised. Check out www.wfra.org.uk for other runs.

Considering the impossibly steep Blorenge on 28/11/09

Marcia.

I managed to finish in 1:55:56 which, after my big sub 2hr PB at Bristol (1:56:43), was nearly a minute quicker but then I had not really done enough training for this one, I was placed 972nd out of 1721 finishers and 41st in category. I am still really pleased that I can now call myself a 'sub 2hr half marathoner'!! One nice touch with Stroud was that on my way back to my car I noticed I had received a txt message telling me my gun, chip time and gun position!! Fastest I have ever known my official result, pity Bristol couldn't introduce something like that!!

No goody bag but tshirt and medal with the opportunity to get your time engraved on a plaque on the back of your medal (£4 on internet).

Generally a well organised race with some really nice touches, shame the chip bins were at the wrong end of the field and not well marked but a friendly race and well supported by the public. I would seriously consider this for next year.

Next stop Christmas Cracker on Weston Beach in December, if you are not yet entered it fills up very quick www.westonac.co.uk/christmascracker!

--- seejay 

So if you fancy it next year they may have tweeked the little grumbles by then and the added bonus this year was the weather was picture perfect, sun out but nice and cool. By the way got my PB after many years of trying got under 2 hours......1.56.28. So pleased, thanks Southville for helping me along the way.

Marcia.

Organisation was generally OK especially considering the professional races going on at the same time, but was a little disappointed with the effort put in to ensuring people started at the right location for their expected time - even after 2k I was still overtaking people going half my pace, and apparently this was because they walked back from the start point and didn't/couldn't wade through the crowd to get to their location, instead of coming at it from the back - there wasn't any obvious signage. Might have been better if they had separate entrances for people with different coloured numbers (denoting different 15-min expected time slots). This was a relatively minor gripe, though, as with over 12000 entrants you're never going to get everyone off running that smoothly!

Route was good, bit of variety so not too boring, small hilly section near the Bournville chocolate factory and a nice downhill for a few km after that, the slight downhill gradient from the start out of the city centre came back to haunt us coming back in, didn't seem that steep on the way down but it sure took it out of me after 12 miles coming back in! The atmosphere was nice, there was plenty of entertainment beforehand what with the professional races, and there were local bands (african band, singers, steel drums, brass band etc.) at points around the course, and plenty of locals cheering us on all the way around - although whoever was barbecueing some rather tasty-smelling food at around mile 8 ought to have known better! Tons of water/drinks stations, too. There was at least one person in the crowd who recognised the Southville shirt (or at least the name), shouting some support in a Bristolian accent, which was nice!

Results are already available, so kudos to them for that, my chip time was 1:32:19 which I'm really pleased with, have been carrying my left leg a bit all week so I'm delighted with my time. I'll probably be taking part again next year, as between a bunch of us we've convinced a good friend of mine who lives in Birmingham and who has never done running before to get fit for next year's race!

I arrived at a car park to findf both Mountain Rescue and an ambulance on site !!!

The race is self was only two miles (an up and down route)

The climb up at times was impossibly steep. Not ashamed to say walking was the only option.

The plateau just below the summit was pretty windy and extremely boggy in places.

I was counting on making time on the downhill which I had lost on the uphill.

The downhill was nearly cliff like and a number of runners slid down to save time. I managed to catch no one on the downhill and finished in 25 mins 13 mins (about 22 out of 30). The winner's time approx 17 mins .

Good fun, great views but tough on the ankles.

Next event posibly Sugar Loaf near Abergavenny.5 miles 1400 feet.

Scott C and I entered this race and I was pleasantly surprised. Was a good atmosphere as you might expect from such an event, and it's always nice running in Ashton Court. Also great to have the last 2k all downhill! Plenty of applause and support at the start and finish. The only down side was the price, but all the Run 10k events seem to be quite expensive. Well done to Scott who came 2nd a field of about a thousand, with a time of 40:26. I got sub-43 minutes but not exactly sure what my time was as there was a chap helpfully stood in front of the clock as I finished! The Evening Post, Run 10k and Heart FM Bristol have some photos of us up on their websites if anyone's interested!

have created this subforum so members can post their thoughts about completed races/events.

To make it easier, can everyone title their posts so that it describes the event in question e.g. "Bristol Half 2009 review", and can people reply within the appropriate post with their comments rather than making a new separate post.