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Can anyone suggest a good alternative to the Royal Parks Half?
Hi all
I ran the Royal Parks Half last year for charity and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I wasn't successful in the ballot for a place this year though, and I don't think a charity place is an option (I imagine it's harder to get people to sponsor you for exactly the same thing again and don't want the added pressure of a fundraising target this time).
Can anyone recommend any other good races of this sort of distance, preferably in the South, and preferably in late Summer or Autumn? I was considering Run to the Beat but have heard it's not that great.
Thanks
J.
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there are gazillions of half's and most are great.... Have a look at the Events tab above and search on events of that distance in your area. I am sure you won't be disappointed.
I did do a search but firstly you can't tell which have a good reputation and which don't, and secondly I note that neither Royal Parks nor Run to the Beat are listed, so I wondered whether there were any other major races missed off?
Has anyone run the Oxford half? That's one of the ones I was considering...
Try the Great Eastern Run (Peterborough Half) - mid October.
most of the established races have had loads of comments to help people out. My comment wasn't flippant - or is a subscriber only thing.
OK, just checked... SOME (ie not all) of the races in the events section are "Rated"... these are the ones with comments from people who have done the races previously. If a race has been rated it also gives a clue that it is an established event.
Personally I wouldn't class Royal Parks or Run to the Beat as major races.
Royal Parks has 12-13,000 runners and Run to the Beat has 19,000, which I would class as major.
I can't click on half the races on the search because they're subscriber only, and even the ones that say rated generally just have a % of how many people would do the race again etc. So it's not much more helpful than a general google search. I was really just after some comments on things like organisation, atmosphere etc for any races people had experience of.
I've heard great things about Farnham pilgrims. I've ran the new first half in September and that's a lot of fun. Not a lot of crowd support but a friendly field.
What are you looking for in a half? Using the two you mention I'm getting:
- big field (over 10,000 people)
- lots of crowd support
- big city feel
Can you give us some more info and we might be able to help you.
If you're just looking for fast courses in the south near the end of the year, Maidenhead in September, and Gosport in November.
However, it depends on the questions Emmy has posed above
I recommend Ealing Half in September. Slightly undulating in places, but very well organised.
And of course Cabbage Patch 10, if you're willing to consider other distances
How about the Great South Run in Portsmouth. 10 miles, flat and interesting course and has a big race feel. I did it 2010 and really enjoyed it! May go in for it this year. It sells out though so if your interested better book up sooner rather than later.
Another vote for Ealing Half Marathon from me. http://www.ealinghalfmarathon.com/