Reebok Bristol Half Marathon 2008

[Deleted User]

Any one else doing this?

[Deleted User]

 Thinking about it.... have you run it before? what did you think? Im a newbie im afraid.

[Deleted User]

No, I have been meaning to enter for the last few years but as  I live in London its always been a problem to get there on time.

[Deleted User]

I will be signing up for Bristol, ran last year and enjoyed it.

[Deleted User]

its a great run, nice medal,flat,

2010 LBB

Hope you can run a week later, on current form they will be changing the date

[Deleted User]

 how did they find a flat course in bristol??!!

Schmunkee - The List Fairy

I was wondering if anyone has entered the 10k to get the guaranteed place for the Half marathon.  I entered last Monday and am still waiting for the email to enter the Bristol half.  Is anyone else having the same problem? 

I have rung Run Bristol but they point me back to activeeurope.com (where I applied to enter 10k) but there are no telephone numbers on there - just a facility to email them.

As there are only 2 days to go, I am getting a bit worried.  Does Bristol Half get filled up early or do I have a chance of getting in without this 'guaranteed entry' from 10k application? 

musketeer

Schmunkee don't worry too much. Sure Bristol will fill up well before the closing date but if you enter once entries open there will be no problem. I heard on Radio Bristol when they had to change the date of the 10k race that they had had about 2000 applications for it, so even if  every one does take up their guaranteed entry, there will still be lots left for the general entries

[Deleted User]

Schmunkee

I recieved this email with a link to activeeurope which took me to the guaranteed places I was going to post the link here but I have just read the small print.please read below the

You are receiving this email because when you entered the new “Bristol 10K” during January,

you opted to receive an email giving you a link to the Reebok Bristol Half Marathon Priority

Entry Facility. The link is below. If you wish to enter the Half Marathon before entries go on

general offer at midnight on February 14th, you should click this link and follow the instructions.

We look forward to seeing you at the Bristol 10k in May! Please note: this offer is not transferable. 

Any unauthorised use of this link by any person other than yourself will result in their entry

being invalidated and payment

retained.

    

Steve Marshall 5

I'm in too. Also doing the 10km for the priority entry but I entered it ages ago!

Did it last year as my first half marathon. Ran a fast time but got injured (Obviously ran too fast)

[Deleted User]

 Steve, how did you find it as your first half? (apart from the injury, of course)

Steve Marshall 5

Was my "home town run" so was excited anyway...

It gets very busy at the start, if you are nervous or aren't from Bristol I'd suggest getting there early to get your bearings.

Didn't get the race T-Shirt for 3 months after the event, and the "goody bag" comprised of a tin of soup so don't do it for the "extras"

The big crowds definatley help spur you on! I'd definately recommend doing a large event as your first rather than a little one...

[Deleted User]

Im from the gloucester area and lived in bristol for a while so thats why i was thinking about it. Ive entered both the 10K and the half now...

Thanks for your reply  

Steve Marshall 5

No worries! Good luck!

Schmunkee - The List Fairy

And I'm in now too!

[Deleted User]

hi all thought i would join this tread.
I am in to bristol this year it will be my first bristol but done a few halfs. doing the bath half tomorrow and main traininig is for london in april. My first and only marathon!
My best friend has done bristol twice and has heard that they are going to change the course slightly so you dont have to run over the cobbels! has anybody else heard this.
Other reason for doing Bristol this year as it is being held on my 25th birthday what better way to mark the occasion.

Kay

Steve Marshall 5

Hi Kay,

We had to run over cobbels last year (07) you run around queens square... Most people either ran on the pavement which isn't cobbeled or there are flat "drains" around the square which you can run in. They aren't very wide but you are ok.

[Deleted User]

thanks have just looked at there web site and they say that they will be adjusting it so the cobbels are not included. It should be a good run.

[Deleted User]

Well, I've just entered. I'm from Ashton so somewhat familiar with the area . Not yet run in my "home town" though having lived West Londonish way since '93.  This will be my second half marathon - did the Great North Run last year in 2:40:25.  Hoping I'll be better prepared for this one and closer to 2:15 or 2:20.

Shame about removing the cobbles - you don't find them in many places anymore!  And it can't actually be that far that you had to run on them?

    W.

Cheerful Dave

I agree it would be a shame if they got rid of the cobbles completely.  It's only a short section, although the two years I've run previously (2005 & 2006) had slightly different courses anyway.  Amazingly for Bristol, yes, it is flat.  Running a long section alongside the river helps, of course.

[Deleted User]

Well, if you stick to the river/cut and through town you can get quite a long flat course especially if its "out and back."  It only starts getting hilly if you deviate from the water courses! 

Cheerful Dave

That's pretty much what they do, Windscale.  As out-and-back courses go, running along the gorge under the Clifton Bridge is pretty scenic.

[Deleted User]

How far out along the portway do they go?

Cheerful Dave

All the way out to the junction with Sylvan Way.

[Deleted User]

anybody going to training camp, sounds good

Magic Roundabout

Just been accepted. Not done any real running for years though I did do the first three Edinburgh Marathons about twenty five years ago. Also did the Bath half marathon about 13 years ago. Sure I am going to suffer, I should know better than to enter a half marathon just because my neice made a dismissive comment

[Deleted User]

I've entered the Half Marathon, will be my first event of any distance. Training is going pretty well so aiming for a reasonable time. It's my home town too which is nice.

[Deleted User]

I have run Bristol a few times now. I am hoping that they are go to make a few improvements over the last few years.

•  The t-shirt. I actually really like the new design t-shirt from last year especially now they are tech t-shirts rather than plain cotton. My gripe was with the delivery. I pay my money in April, to not have the men's t-shirts ready by September is not really good enough.
• The "goody" bag. A can of Baxter's country chicken soup and some leaflets. I am sure the soup is still in my larder. Contrast that with London which contained chocolate milk, huge bag of jelly babies, sports drink, mars planets, water, various sample size things like deodorant and shower gel.
• The course. I know it must be quite difficult to get a flat 13 miles in Bristol without resorting to just up the portway and back. The tiny lane that many Bristolians didn't even know existed at the start of the portway after about a mile was crazy. The cobbles weren't great, but they provided the only real bit of scenery.
• The bag drop. Last year I just locked my bag in the car. It took about 10 minutes to walk to my car and retrieve it. The previous year I queued for over 40 minutes to retreive my bag. Again, if I contrast with London where the people who were running the bag drop took the time to sort the bags in numerical order in each section whilst the race was running. The result was as I crossed the line I was de-chipped, handed my medal, handed my goody bag and as I walked up to the baggage collection the guys on the truck had seen my number and had already retreived my bag by the time I got to them. It was like clockwork.

OK, with the negatives out of the way I still enter this race because it is my home race and because the general atmosphere is pretty good for a half.

My tip for anyone local who is doing this for the first time. Before the event, try to get 1 or 2 training runs along the Portway. With it being such a long stretch when you run it for the first time it can be pretty demoralising.

[Deleted User]

Hi all well back from my first and only london marathon and now into training to try and crack the 2 hour mark at bristol. might try and come into bristol befor sep to have a run along the portway! What is the start like does it get very congested. and will it be as bad as bath with the hour delay?

[Deleted User]

hi,just back from the training weekend in the forest of dean.it was fantastic value and a great learning curve and a lot of fun.ther was liz yelling ,martin yelling and nick anderson.

georgetta vanhoof was there to take critism and suggestions for for the future of this event.she is the councils race organiser,and i believe she is trying to take it to new levels of organisation.and is working hard to make this years event a sucsess.i ran it last year i got the park and ride and had no problems ,it was my first and i loved the route.i cant wait for the 10k

i think there miight be a bristol marathon in the future