This was my first non-US race and 13 miles is still 13 miles. The upside was that the weather was cooler than a July race in the US, and that … MORE
This was my first non-US race and 13 miles is still 13 miles. The upside was that the weather was cooler than a July race in the US, and that it was a HECK of a lot cheaper. Only 25 bucks. The downside (for those that care) was that there was no shirt. I have about 50 half marathon shirts in my drawer and wasn’t bothered by not having one, although if I am honest I was looking forward to sporting a Scotland half marathon race shirt. But not an issue, especially if the race is cheaper.
Parking was easy. There were a few port-a-potties, and check in was easy. About 750 people ran and it was a wider road course for the first mile or so, at which point it narrowed down to a single-track trail. It was probably a bit too soon to narrow down after only a mile with 750 runners. I’d recommend they run us around the property a bit to spread us out before sending us to the single-track.
The trail part of the course was nice, not technical. Maybe halfway into the race we started running on what I might call “technical sidewalks.” That is, not flat and smooth like a road course, but up the steps at road crossings, and down them, and the sidewalks weren’t in good condition. Pothole-y and uneven. It wasn’t on rural roads so unless they raced earlier (it was a 9:00am start) it wouldn’t be practical to close roads for the race. I don’t know the culture in the UK for closing road courses, but it would have helped.
The course profile has a significant net altitude decline. Going into the race I thought maybe it will be a fast course. My last 10 or 15 races have averaged a sub-2 hour time. My time on a course with a similar elevation profile was about 15 minutes faster, so that gives you an idea about the speed of this course. This is NOT a fast course, despite its being mostly downhill. Lots of sharp turns, technical sidewalk, and trail. I’d just come off hiking 84 miles on Hadrian’s Wall Path, so my legs could have been out of gas… but if so, I didn’t feel like it. I felt pretty normal. So if you run this, expect a slower race than the elevation profile would suggest.
The finish came in just under 13 miles according to my Garmin, so if you are a purist who cares about getting exactly 13.1, double-check the elevation profile to confirm whatever it is that you need to confirm. There was no real post-race party. There were bottles of water and that was about it. There was actually a bag with a few dry snacks, which were not something I was interested in eating right after running.
In something I’ve not seen in the US, there were a few people along the route who seemed to be operating independently of the race organizers. They had bowls of gummies; just grab while you run by. That was fun! Although it did occur to me that I’m eating opened snacks from people who could be giving me bad food. But I loved seeing these people. There were some spectators along the way who cheered, about like what a US race would have.
The bus back up to the finish line was easy enough. I think I waited only about 10 minutes for the shuttle. Although it was probably a 30 minute ride back up to the start line.
Overall, I’m glad I ran this race. I only ran this particular race because it fit into my travel schedule in the UK. I’d not likely run this race again though, but that’s not a knock against the race. The organizers communicated well, they provided a solid, no frills race. And it was cheap. And it was a nice finish line along the River Tay, just at the mouth out to the North Sea. But only the last mile was flat like this, and pretty.
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Okay, but fun to race in another country
This was my first non-US race and 13 miles is still 13 miles. The upside was that the weather was cooler than a July race in the US, and that … MORE
This was my first non-US race and 13 miles is still 13 miles. The upside was that the weather was cooler than a July race in the US, and that it was a HECK of a lot cheaper. Only 25 bucks. The downside (for those that care) was that there was no shirt. I have about 50 half marathon shirts in my drawer and wasn’t bothered by not having one, although if I am honest I was looking forward to sporting a Scotland half marathon race shirt. But not an issue, especially if the race is cheaper.
Parking was easy. There were a few port-a-potties, and check in was easy. About 750 people ran and it was a wider road course for the first mile or so, at which point it narrowed down to a single-track trail. It was probably a bit too soon to narrow down after only a mile with 750 runners. I’d recommend they run us around the property a bit to spread us out before sending us to the single-track.
The trail part of the course was nice, not technical. Maybe halfway into the race we started running on what I might call “technical sidewalks.” That is, not flat and smooth like a road course, but up the steps at road crossings, and down them, and the sidewalks weren’t in good condition. Pothole-y and uneven. It wasn’t on rural roads so unless they raced earlier (it was a 9:00am start) it wouldn’t be practical to close roads for the race. I don’t know the culture in the UK for closing road courses, but it would have helped.
The course profile has a significant net altitude decline. Going into the race I thought maybe it will be a fast course. My last 10 or 15 races have averaged a sub-2 hour time. My time on a course with a similar elevation profile was about 15 minutes faster, so that gives you an idea about the speed of this course. This is NOT a fast course, despite its being mostly downhill. Lots of sharp turns, technical sidewalk, and trail. I’d just come off hiking 84 miles on Hadrian’s Wall Path, so my legs could have been out of gas… but if so, I didn’t feel like it. I felt pretty normal. So if you run this, expect a slower race than the elevation profile would suggest.
The finish came in just under 13 miles according to my Garmin, so if you are a purist who cares about getting exactly 13.1, double-check the elevation profile to confirm whatever it is that you need to confirm. There was no real post-race party. There were bottles of water and that was about it. There was actually a bag with a few dry snacks, which were not something I was interested in eating right after running.
In something I’ve not seen in the US, there were a few people along the route who seemed to be operating independently of the race organizers. They had bowls of gummies; just grab while you run by. That was fun! Although it did occur to me that I’m eating opened snacks from people who could be giving me bad food. But I loved seeing these people. There were some spectators along the way who cheered, about like what a US race would have.
The bus back up to the finish line was easy enough. I think I waited only about 10 minutes for the shuttle. Although it was probably a 30 minute ride back up to the start line.
Overall, I’m glad I ran this race. I only ran this particular race because it fit into my travel schedule in the UK. I’d not likely run this race again though, but that’s not a knock against the race. The organizers communicated well, they provided a solid, no frills race. And it was cheap. And it was a nice finish line along the River Tay, just at the mouth out to the North Sea. But only the last mile was flat like this, and pretty.