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Headcorn Half Marathon
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Comments
I thought overall it was a great race. The course was good and very well signed and marshalled with frequent well organised drinks stations. Very flat course with great PB potential. I scored a good PB which would've been quicker still by a minute or more had it not been for that damn wind in the last four miles, I was running at a far higher effort just to sustain the pace.
The course was accurately measured but I agree the mile markers were way off at times. (You don't expect them to be exact but mile marker 12 was at 11.78 miles on my Garmin meaning that for those running without technology the last mile must have felt very long, well guess what - it was!
The pre-race set up was fairly disorganised, whilst it's good of the pub to host it, it's simply too small a venue which meant long queues, nowhere to comfortably get changed and a slightly manic baggage area. None of this would put me off doing it again but compared to other events it was certainly not a slick set up! The village hall in Headcorn would be a far better place for race HQ as it's only 300 meters from the start and has great facilities, not sure if they were approached? I think if the race gets bigger they will definitely need an alternative venue or else set up some large tents on the green...
I did not like running on the mud to start, surely the course could be slightly extended elsewhere on the road. The final 10-20 on the mud is manageable but a little dangerous at full speed, perhaps some mats might work to overlay the grass?
The race could be improved but the course itself with PB potential is the main selling points along with all the facilities that Headcorn offers as a village such as ample parking, a train station and lots of places to get food and drink pre and post race.
Hopefully this will be a regular feature and a few improvements would help make it a top event!
I enjoyed this event, loved the course and especially the start time!
Mathew has highlighted the issues but none of this would put me off entering the event next year.
I parked easily in the free car park by the post office, picked up my number in 5 mins though i did arrive there at 8.10 am. The queue was very long nearing the race start and this was purely due to the fact the HQ was too small. I decided to leave my baggage in the car so i had no issues there.
The start was a little slippery but not in truth we were off the green in no time at all though i'd suggest they look for an alternative way of extending the course so that this can be avoided in future.
I loved the course, pretty fast with slight ups and downs run through quiet country lanes. The mile marker at 6 was accurate but after that they were well out which didn't bother me as i had a garmin on but i could tell from the runners around me that it was causing concern. This carried on till the end and although the course was accurate in distance, it made the last mile feel long. Plenty of water, bottled and cups and i grabbed a few sweets half way round. All very welcoming.
A basic medal, squash and jaffa cakes at the finish given out by friendly marshals and then made my way home.
I'd definitely run the event next year and if the organisers can work out some of the detail then i think they could have a pearl of an event on their hands.
you see I don't call that a flat course, to me that is undulating I was expecting much flatter. I was 2mins off my PB (from Southend, now that is flat), which I'd been hoping to threaten but that might have as much to do with running 24M last Sunday. It was a nice course though and very well marshalled.
Agree about the organisation at the start, it was a bit chaotic, would be much easier to send your numbers out in the post. Hopefully next year the can get a UKA license too.
Another thing they could do is start later because they have train station there, but it is of no benefit since you cannot get there by train till 09:20 (from London, Tonbridge etc.) - a friend of mine had to pull out on Friday when he realised!
For a first Headcorn Half I think people are expecting a little too much. yes a few tweaks could be made and perhaps the organisers have taken comments a little to heart rather than learning from them and improving next year, all comments are good comments after all as without the criticisms how do you know where you need to make improvements.
I would say the course was a flat course as the hills were few and far between and weren't exactly challenging.
the green was muddy and perhaps a slight change could be made to the course so that we don't have to run on this, but not significant.
the marshals were great! and I saw an adequate amount of refreshments, ive seen worse anyway.
the only thing I feel needs improvement not that it affects the runners so much but would benefit organisers and would perhaps get headcorn residents out and about to watch the race or even keep cars off the roads would be advertisement. I live and work in the village as well as Maidstone and no one new the event was taking place. this is in no way a criticism just something to consider for future as I think this could be a great permanent fixture! I would be more than happy to advertise it as would many other businesses.
the white horse was small as mentioned but getting a free venue ie village hall is not as easy as it may seem, maybe a set up in the pub garden as well (marquee or such like) if you don't manage to secure a hall.
Well done anyway was great and I will definitely look forward to doing it next year.
I'm not appearing in the race results??? Have tried to email the organisers, but it doesnt send. Anyone know who I need to contact about this?
bit gutted, as I gave it 100% and wore my number correctly.
Will post my race report tomorrow. Want to get this sorted first. Didn't time it accurately myself.
Well done to all who raced this
I thought this was a great event & good for a first one. I know they tried to get a larger HQ and the pub was a last minute fix. Also needed a megaphone to give the opening instructions. Good signage & excellent marshalling.
Personally I would say it was a flat course - the ups were very gentle & not at all challenging. Undulating to me would suggest rather steeper inclines.
Nice medal though I missed the jaffa cakes - all had been scoffed by the time I got there!
Bag pick up at the end was great - they saw me crossing the road to get it and had it ready & waiting as I walked through the door.
Would do it again..
The only good thing in the Headcorn Half Marathon is the flat course.Entry fee is higher then the winners prize (cheap wine and a cheap throphy).Also the record breaking promise of extra £50 was only an empty word from a race director-Mike Hawkins.Unprofessional way of carry on the profiting running business.