Watford 10K - (15 yrs and over)

bit disappointed with the 2013 route to be honest ....(last years 2012  race went through the blue bell field....the highlight of the event in my opinion)

....this year too many narrow/pinch points....and running along side the roads wasn't brilliant either

the biggest gripe I have is the course length. ...maybe it was just my GPS ? (Garmin 610)....but mine read 9.48k......a staggering 520m too short !!.....

anyone else find it too short ?

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Comments

  • My garmin got it short, too; 9.64k

  • SlowkoalaSlowkoala ✭✭✭

    Mine too, I made it 5.84 miles and thought I had one third of a mile to go when I saw the finishing line. 4th lady (2nd vet) but don't think I can really claim it as a PB. Disappointing as would have thought with GPS devices shouldn't be so hard to measure a course more accurately.

  • I much preferred last years course i thought that too much of this years one was in the park and my Garmin had it at 9.39, denying me what i thought was a pb.

  • Yes It definitely felt short this year and I clocked a pb so slightly disappointed. Having said that great organisation and event as usual. Thanks all

  • Yeah my garmin said 9.69km. Other than that I quite liked the new course

  • I hope the organisers will be on here to tell us that the garmins got it wrong. Felt pleased with my time, but am now a bit disappointed!

  • SlowkoalaSlowkoala ✭✭✭

    Helen, I also used a Nike app on my phone which always says I have run more in races but even that came up with only 6 miles! The race is on Run Britain so should be UK athletic affiliated but they will definitely need to revisit next year.

  • My husband said something about if there are tight bends or loops or dense trees that it can mess the garmins up.... am I clutching at straws? I am just surprised and disappointed that they would measure it wrong. However, I was also a tad surprised at my time....

  • Stevie  GStevie G ✭✭✭✭

    in fairness, you wouldn't go to a MT undulating course to look for a pb anyway image

  • SlowkoalaSlowkoala ✭✭✭

    Managed to beat last year's time by 11 minutes and knock 4 mins off my PB! Shame it wasn't 10k!

  • My GPS said 9.49, really gutted thought I'd had a really good run - not so sure now.

    I think the course may have gone wrong around the 8k mark as we got back into the park - very few signs and marshalls. I heard one of the marshalls say something about the runners following each other and may have missed some of the course.

    If so then it's really taken the shine off a great day in other respects.

  • Maybe some of us ran 10K?

  • Have to say I didn't see the 8K marker, but I often miss them so wasn't that worried about it.....now I am image - there was one moment coming back to the park where we were pointed by marshalls to run up the hill and it seemed a bit random but perhaps not more so than other races.

  • SlowkoalaSlowkoala ✭✭✭

    The organisers have put on their FB page that they had to change the advertised route only yesterday and that this may have accounted for the 'shortfall' in the route. 

  • Yes, I saw that. But you'd think they'd measure it accurately unless it was a big last minute rush? I'm more inclined to go with the route going wrong argument, which would be a marshall/runners failing. I wonder if it happened during the race- perhaps the first folk ran 10K perhaps and then at some point it went slightly adrift? I saw runners cutting corners myself and made sure I didn't, but that would only account for a few metres rather than 500.

  • I think the problem might have been at around 8k; the runers went diagonally across the field at the top of the hill, but I suspect we were supposed to go round the edge. When I got to the exit of the field, I saw the 8k mark about 50m to my right; annoying because by my calculation I would have got a PB regardless

  • Paul Williams 113 wrote (see)

    I think the problem might have been at around 8k; the runers went diagonally across the field at the top of the hill, but I suspect we were supposed to go round the edge. When I got to the exit of the field, I saw the 8k mark about 50m to my right; annoying because by my calculation I would have got a PB regardless

    I think you're right but I don't think this alone would have accounted for the 500m difference and I remember seeing markers on the floor at this point because I almost turned around thinking I'd gone wrong - until I saw the markers.

    Feel particularly sorry for anyone who would have achieved a PB - almost relieved I missed mine now!

  • I think it is very poor to pay £17 for an event that has nearly 1000 participants that is nowhere near 10k. The km markers were all over the place...it took me nearly 7mins to run the first km and 4 mins to run the 4th km! There was definitely no 8km marker! Enjoyed the day and the weather

  • Yes, a proper response would be nice from the organisers. Yes, it's a fun run, and yes, I had fun. But I also wanted to run 10K and yes I also paid a fee to run 10K not less than 10K. It wasn't a PB for me, but it was my fastest one for several years- but was it? Grrrrrrr!

  • Quite right! If I had known it was not 10k, I would have gone for a run at home then spent the £17 in the local pub

     

  • Indeed! Not sure anyone's going to admit to bungling though, could be costly!

  • And maybe everyone is happy with their super fast times as well image...

  • I would love for the organisers to tell us that it was indeed 10K after all by the way! Or just a bit short, not a lot..... I think I'll have to hope for that, that my time would still have been 53 minutes something rather than 55.......

  • SlowkoalaSlowkoala ✭✭✭

    I was really going for a PB after spending the last 6 months marathon training. I think I need to add 2 mins to my 41 mins which would still give me a PB, but only just and I will never know for sure! So on reflection, best to treat as a training tempo run and move on! Would have been a lot worse had it been a marathon. Interesting that it is appearing in Power of 10 listings though.

  • The Munden House 10k (Watford) was also on 6th May this year (last year it was 24th June). I chose to do Watford 10k this year based on the good experience of 2012 that was absent this year.

    I think if Watford 10k and Munden House 10k are both on the same date again next year then I might be tempted to do Munden instead....at least its a proper 10k and not next to roads.....and too many tight and narrow points on this years Watford 10k that are no good for overtaking.....a single file bridge...FFS !

    ....unless, that is,  the race organisers of Watford 10k can sort out a better route for next year...... that is at least 10k...... ??

    I know its all a good cause and "fun run" etc....but for me, and I am sure I am not alone, I treat these events reasonably seriously to test how my training has paid off....if a proper 10k distance and a proper route is that unimportant to the organisers then why even bother with chip timing ?....we might as well do the run carrying a fridge on our back or dressd as an ostrich...and walk round drinking a few tinnies on the way.

    the more I think about this the more disappointed I am....a whole 1/2k short ....thinking again its completely ridiculaous that it is so short....

    ..if parts of the course were that important not to cut corners (to make the full 10k distance....eg Km8 across the field) then put more marshalls there......marshalls sitting on a bench on a single file track next to the river are no use...

  • Well, they only started chip timing last year....and it was a change of course this year, and apparently a change at the last minute (day before) from the advertised new course. So, I can understand that mistakes can happen. However, charity "fun run" and all, it is still very disappointing if they couldn't get the measurement/marshalling right to provide a 10K course that measures 10K. I hope they will take this concern seriously for planning next year's race. I notice that it is not a particularly fast field, but many of us train seriously and use the race as a race to test ourselves. Hmmm, bah, humbug!

     

  • blimey....if they changed the course the day before then that really does explain the mess.....

    would be nice to have one of the organisers on to explain what happened.

    never mind I guess -  intention of the thread was to see if anyone else had the same problem as me of 1/2k short.... or if it was my Garmin that was screwed........seems quite a few people had the same problem and are as disappointed as me.

  • Yes, I think I will end on "never mind". And will stay hopeful that we ran 10K or almost 10K. I think I'll enter another one in July- will have to train especially hard to make sure I beat my time for this one image.

  • Well done all you Watford 10k folks who competed and sorry to hear you think maybe the course was a tad short - did I hear somewhere that the Gt North 1/2mara had the same problem? altho I think that was a marshalling fail!

    It was a very scenic course and a great day out tho so I filmed it too (I've run it a few times when it was "The Bluebell Run").  If you want to see it it's on youtube now at http://youtu.be/X8hj4dc677A

    (PS I do these videos for free, this is not a plug for my blog  and I have nothing to gain from this link commercially so I hope no-one minds me including it!)

  • SlowkoalaSlowkoala ✭✭✭

    Great video, very professionally done and I spotted myself running at the start! 

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