Post Race Review Page 

Newcastle 7

31 March 2008 - Newcastle 7
If anyone is looking for an alternative to the Wilmslow (those of us that could not get in) the Newcastle 7 is a challenging race. The first three miles is all uphill, then it levels off and you find yourself on an undulating course, the last mile is downhill until you turn into the home straight (past Newcastle Under Lyme College). You finish on a small incline. Nice course and will challenge you to get a PB. I knocked off 3 minutes from last year. Good parking facilities and changing
facilities. 

Liz

Chester Spring 5

Great turn out of Sandbach Striders for this race. Good parking and changing facilities. The race itself is fairly flat and the course is fast. It's a popular weekday race with lots of local clubs. The first three miles is flat and fast, the fourth seems to go on for a bit but once past that and on the home straight the last mile flies in quickly.

Liz

The course started with a downwards hill which was great to get some speed up. But i couldnt help thinking 'Ive gotta come back up this amount of elevation at some point' and the downward hill just kept going on and on and on up to about 2.5 miles. I was preserving my energy for the dreaded return upwards and it never really happened. I think there was one steepish mound and that was it!!!! I got a new PB of 35 mins and 15 seconds but i feel i could have run faster if i knew the course.

I thought the marshalling was excellent, there were 2 or 3 marshalls on every turn. Some were encouraging, some were not. - Whatever!

The photographer caught me by surprise under the bridge on the last mile. haha.

I thought there was supposed to be a medal or something as a momentum of the race but i received nothing. Maybe my mistake. Perhaps next time the organisers could put something up??

All in all a great race though and i will be returning next year to go all out on the whole course ;o)

Steven

Dougie Mack

Hi Fred
Dragged my old body round Wedgewood on Sunday in the snow in the above 5k race. Timed at 22min.59 sec.
Good race with a lot of charity runners (400) and walkers(600) which leads to a confused start to say the least. Run starts with the first mile uphill then flattens out for about a mile and closes with a down hill stretch which is unfortunately spoiled at the end by having to run around a boggy football field which tends to slow you down a bit. All was forgotten 10mins later when we were tucking into a couple of cheese oatcakes and a nice cup of tea. Race cost £5 parking OK, start time 9.45am, home for 11.30am.
Cheers
Ian 

 

The race was good. Parking plenty, changing facilities good. First mile uphill, then undulating, third mile downhill and last 300 yards across a field to the finish. Everyone received a china mug. All proceeds for the race go to Dougie Mac fundraisers. Great cheese oatcakes at the end - and only 50p - bargain.
Liz 

Crewe 10k Air Products

In short: Watch out for the fast start!
In full: I killed myself in the first km. i did it in 3 mins 48 secs which is fast for me. All because of the speedy start. If you dont want to start too fast i suggest you start nearer the back and be consious of ur speed. Not a bad race overall though. Not very exciting but i will still do it again. Nice T-shirt. Worth racing just for that!
Steven

Cheadle 5

In short: Scenic and slightly challenging
In full: Loved this race. The off road sections were particularly enjoyable. The marshalling could have been better as traffic still continued to pass us on the quieter parts. The last stretch (mile or so) was good as it was all up hill so it gave me a chance to overtake some of the people who had not reserved their energy! Definitely will do again

Steven

Mow Cop Killer Mile

In Short: Hill?... or a mountain?
 
In Full: What a great race! This was a surprisingly very well organised race (surprisingly because its the residents that organise it rather than a running club - some lessons could be had here by some other clubs!). The route goes as follows: slight incline, round a bend, gets steeper, round another bend, gets steeper, runner looks up to see a wall of concrete, blinks a few times, realises its actually more road to run up (a 1-in-4 climb), digs in and just keeps going!!! The croud really helped at this point with their cheers of encouragement - possibly helped by the fact there is a pub just here to keep them interested! Despite the massive build up of lactic acid in the legs (they were very jellyfied) and the burning/freezing sensation in the throat and lungs I would definately do this again. Certificate is a nice change to a t-shirt or medal too. Bring on next years!
 
Steven.

Mobberley 5 Mile

Although it was advertised as  5 miles it did feel longer. The race was mostly off road, running round nice little dirt tracks and then along grass adjacent to Manchester airport. The route was very scenic. One little steep hill was conquered. Yes…. I definitely do this one again and I would recommend it.

Liz

 
Here is my review for the Mobberley 5(point3) mile run.
 
In short: Great for the money! Actually 5.30 Miles.
In full: This race was set in a lovely scenic area, running along quiet roads and dirt tracks. There were a couple of good features such as the aeroplanes flying over head, running alongside the runway, a stream through a tunnel and lets not forget the 'killer' hill!

The marshalling could have been better, and I expected better from such a big club. There were cars pushing their way through and driving very close passed people still running (i am happy to say i wasnt one of them...but thats not the point!)..This was a bit dangerous, not to mention rude from the drivers with disgruntled faces.

Dont let the drivers put you off tho as this was only the last section of the race. Perhaps a better area for the finish next time?

I did enjoy the rest of the route and will probably do it again. But this is definately not a PB potential race as it is actually 5.30 miles, NOT 5 miles. No memento but what do you expect for less than a fiver?
 
Steven

Delamere Trail Race 5.8 Miles (approx)

Well 6 of us did the Delamere Forrest run last night and it was hard.  It turned out to be 5.8 miles of up and down hills round and round twisted bends. It was a nice run albeit a bit hard underfoot.  Would I recommend it – yes – though get some hill training in.

Liz