Feedback - The good, bad and the grammatically incorrect

Great fun, beautiful scenery, supportive marshalls, beautiful scenery, well organised start, have i mentioned the scenery? Well worth travelling all the way from London for.

THANKYOU!!

Just a note to thank you on a marvellous event. That must be one of the best courses I have run, with very friendly folk at registration, marshalling, at drinks stations and at the end.

good parking, well organised coach service.

I guess it's impossible, but it would be nice if there was some way to have a less congested start, but as you still have 26.2 miles to run, it doesn't really matter that much.

I was also amazed to see from the results that I was third in my age group. That was something I didn't expect.

Nice to see the age-graded results too. I’ve not seen that on any other race results and it is very interesting information. Puts it all in a bit more perspective – and gains me 30 odd places !

I would certainly expect to be back doing this again next year, even if it is a long way from Newcastle.

wow, what a fantastic event, one of the best courses I've run. Super weather for distance runnign, if not so good for spectating and marshalling, so thanks to all of them.

Just a short note to thank all the Club members & volunteers who gave up there time to help make the event possible. They did a sterling job on a day when the weather was dry but always threatening rain. This is my second time for the event and I appreciate all the hard work and organisation that went into making everything run so smoothly. Please keep up the good work, hope to see you at next years event.

Thanks for that but no problems, I know what its like to organise a race & appreciate your efforts. Will be back next year to improve on my poor effort this year (I'm blaming the puddles).

Thanks for a great event yesterday. It was my first marathon, so I have nothing to compare it with. I was impressed, however, with the organisation and marshalling. It made a real difference that the marshals applauded and encouraged, as well as making sure that water etc. were available. At one water station (near Longcliffe) there was someone 'upstream', making sure that runners knew what was available - water at the first table, orange at the next and so on. I was really grateful for such a seemingly simple piece of assistance - I had so little energy left at this stage that not having to make a small detour to the wrong table was invaluable!

The reception at the finish was marvellous. A tiny quibble is that it was not immediately obvious to me where the finish line was - there was a tape funnel and then some tired-looking people recovering from the run. Fortunately, I was presented with a goodie-bag within seconds of crossing what I believed to be the line, so felt reassured. Maybe a line sprayed onto the turf would make it clearer?

I was surprised and impressed to find comprehensive results available online this morning. I had anticipated waiting quite a while for this, so well done to your IT boys/girls.

Please thank everyone involved in organising and running this event for me. Despite tired legs this morning I had a great day.

thanks very much for an absolutely top race today. everything about it was superb..the course, sceney, organisation, and friendliness of everyone. i'll definitely be back next year. thanks again

Excellent event – despite the puddles (which no-one has any control over anyway). I found the organisation was brilliant, there were enough toilets (which is hardly ever the case), the water points were perfectly adequate with water and juice, and the route itself was superb. The small number (200) is perfect – anymore would probably get a bit crowded, especially early on. The only improvement I could suggest, and this is really not essential - just a nice-to-have, would be enery drink at the water points. Nice to have the mug as well – instead of just another medal to hang up and forget about !

As someone who likes splashing through puddles and doesn't bother picking up medals - great.

Really enjoyed this half.. As my first i was really pleased with my result. The puddle-dodging did effect time/distance as the garmin measured in at 13.75m but this didnt deflect from the fun. Perfect track,mainly flat with couple of good downhills.

Thanks for a great race. I finished in 1.26, close to a PB. I particularly enjoyed the support at the water stations and at Middleton Top. I will certainly be recommending the race to fellow Wilmslow runners. I wonder if you could improve the start, somehow, to reduce the congestion. My wife suggested starting on the minor road, near Newhaven, then run up the road into the Friden Picnic site and on to the trail. I am not sure of the distance would be right, but no doubt Cromford meadows could be lapped to make up the distance. Thanks once again.

I would just like to thank the organisers, marshals and other helpers ( not forgetting the St John's Ambulance team ) for another excellent day out on the two trails. Compared to the one coach taking us to the start two or three years ago you have turned this into a most successful event - tough but enjoyable - and where else would you get views like the ones we have seen today. Once again thanks to all

Once again and first and foremost very very well done on yet another great event. This was my forth (or maybe fifth?) WP marathon and definatly not my last. The only two things I can think of that may improve matters a wee bit are:

If indeed it is neccessary to go down and turn round (which I presume it is?) then I would like to suggest a far more significant and defined turn around. As you are aware this years winner, Simon Smith got there and was "bam-boozled" as the marshal was not there nor was it (to him) obvious of what to do having not done the race before. "Si" lost approx 3 mins after carrying on down the road for a short while but never the less kept his composure and rallied to get back in focus rather than blowing his top through fustration and went on to win.

On a slightly lesser note there is always the possability/temptation for one to "take a we short cut". I know that this is extremely rare but even in this our chosen and great sport it does go on. (Beats me why but there you go!)

I would like to suggest that you purchase a set of those large high-flo numbers that can be seen easily, these would be greatly appreciated especially in the wooded areas.and that is it, this is a cracking event and long may it continue, see you all next year!

Another fantastic effort. Superbly organised. Prompt results. Well done. I forgot to mention the road crossing at half way. This has the potential to be very dangerous. The guys there were doing a fantastic job. I was carrying an empty bottle of water and couldn't find anywhere to get rid of it. It doesn't seem like much but a welcome smile and an offer to take it off me, when they had much more to do than collect rubbish, was really appreciated and is a good example of what a first rate team of helpers you have.

Hi Ian,

Just a quick note to say thanks for a well organised event yesterday. It ia also very good to do an event on a course where there are a lot of CLEAN public toilets, as well as what Mother Nature gives us. Reluctantly, I have to say I enjoyed it, and plan to be back next year. It was my first time on the course, having always been put off by the old railtrack idea(too boring). This course is certainly not boring; it is OK, but bloody hard! See you 2006 please.

Well done to all who took part. And a special big 'THANK YOU' to Ian and Matlock AC without whom this race would not take place. It was a long day for us at High Peak Junction and all four of us marshalls have sore hands from clapping and sore throats from shouting encouragement. OH! And who mooned at me while I was driving off the parking field. They had a very small dog that looked a bit familiar....lol.

What a great race. Brilliant scenerely, near perfect running weather (ok, I forgive the headwind), near perfect course - I can forgive those three descents on the way down, because they were very lovely to look at. As was every step of that course. Ok, so cramps got me in the end, but so what. A great day out.

well what can i say prob the best 1/2 marathon ive entered just about every thing i wonted ecept the headwind looking forward to doing the full next year do you fancy it again stickless

Ian - many thanks. Organisation was brill. The sweeper deserves special mention for courtesy and generous handouts of encouragement.

just like to add my thanks to Ian and the MAC crew who obviously worked so hard and made the day so special. I ran the half (switched from the full due to injury) and had a truely wonderful day. It couldnt have been better really. Definately up for next year. I have put it in the diary already. thanks again to everyone involved.

many thanks to all the organisers, it was my first white peak event and will definitely be entering next year. i really enjoyed the run, after the event !, everything was pretty well organised and the scenery stunning. all the best and see you next year

Firstly may I say a big thank you to all those who took the considerable time and effort to arrange a super run as the Half Marathon and no doubt the Full Marathon. This is the second year my wife has run it and my first and we will both be back again next year, hopefully with a few more runners from our club which is the Wootton Road Runners Northampton. There was one Wootton runner last year and four this year so we are increasing slowly. The FA cup final doesn't help. Just two small constructive criticisms if I may.

Firstly as I was running along alone (the runner in front was probably a minute ahead of me) there were a couple of places probably due to tiredness where I was a little confused as to where to go with no marshal on hand. You might be thinking how can you go wrong on a single track but these are my personal views. Please don't be offended. The second is my wife and I were both wearing GPS watches which accurately measure distances using satellites and ours both measure the finish line as being where we came out of the trees on the canal just before we turned right and down into the field. Once we finished (16 minutes apart) our watches both said a distance of 13.25 miles rather than 13.10. I wonder what your views are on this.

May I finally again thank you all for an excellently organised race and look forward to being there again next year.

The Marathon race was very well organised with a decent amount of drink stations on an excellent route. Will certainly (try to) do it again next year and would highly recommend it to fellow runners. Just one small criticism - where was the marshall at the turn point beyond Parsley Hay for the lead runners? Please excuse any spelling mistakes as I have typed this with sore legs and a bit of fatigue! Thanks for a great day

Ian, a lovely race, great course, and very easy for spectating at frequent intervals; and well done to all your marshals at the drinks stations who were so friendly. I'll pencil in at least the half, for next year. A couple of very, very minor suggestions: were all the mile markers there ? And an even littler point, if you are redrawing the instruction map:- the most obvoius thing at the junction on the A6 are the traffic lights, the only ones for miles around coming from the south, at least. I had a little panic as Crich is signposted off from much further south

Ian and Friends at Matlock AC

I can safely say that I don't think I've ever entered a better organised race that caters for such a wide range of abilities. It is something that
you can all be justifiably proud of. The fact that it attracted so many from outside the area says much about its growing stature as a race for runners
by runners.

A couple of small points which you might like to consider.

Firstly: There will undoubtbly be more interest for next years event. Please don't be tempted to raise the entry limit too much. I doubt that the course
could cope with many more, and the logistics would become much harder for you as organisers. Also its obviously important to consider the needs of
other users of the trial(s). It may mean that you have to be a bit hard nosed in turning people away when entries are full, but I guess it's the price you pay for running such a quality event.

Secondly: Like many others I lost the mile markers after 23 (at least until I saw 26!!). I'm sure that they were there but probably just not as obvious
as the others had been. Perhaps it might be a better idea to post a "Distance to go" marker by the warning signs at the top of the three major inclines at the end ?? That way those of us sad enough to want to work out our splits would have a datum to work from, whilst those who were just plain tired would take some encouragement that the end was nigh !!

But these are very minor points and I repeat my heartiest congratulations on the great success of your event.

Your marathon was wonderful, thank you for all your efforts. Great atmosphere because you kept it small, fantastic scenery and execellent uncomplicated organization. I shall do it again next year.

Many thanks for organising this event. It was my first Half Marathon and the organisation was great. It was obvious a lot of folk had worked very hard to get everything in place for the day. I particularly like the blue mug in the finisher packs.

Thanks to you and your colleagues for putting together such a fantastic event. A perfect course, the bus ride out, the anticipation, being able to meet almost the whole field of runners - so many individual touches that make for long and fond memories. Support at the drinks stations was great (thanks Tom and Lee). Nell, Craig, Stuart, Bob, Derek, Nick – it was a pleasure to meet you and run with you and hope to see you next year.

My first half marathon. Great weather, scenery, organisation, companionship. What a descent!

The White Peak was recommended to me and I was not disappointed. Back next year for certain. Don't know about the full marathon though!

just wanted to say thank you for a great day. We were both 'virgin' runners and attempted the half marathon. Very pleased with our times (1.51). Having never been to one of these before we did not know what to expect. We thought the organisation was excellent, the drinks stations well manned, lots of emergency help available, people clapped as we went round, the organisers and runners were very friendly, access for the wives to see us and the pack at the end was really good (loved the mug!). Only thing was - what happened to the markers after about 21 miles - it did not help our timing. Were they removed or is that standard practice in these types of races? Have been bitten by the bug now, we are going to enter the Holme and chesterfield ones. The availability of flyers was good.

Sorry forgot to say about the showers - they were cold, muddy and filthy, no wonder they were empty.

Thanks for a great day - see you next year for the marathon.

Well done to Matlock A C. I did the half marathon and really enjoyed it. I thought everything was just right, I have tried to think of any constructive criticisms I can make, and really the only one I can make is that we could have been taken to the start a few minutes earlier. It was touch and go as to whether we would be there for 11am. I thought the goody bag was especially good, the best I have seen. I was also pleased to get a mug at the finish rather than another tee shirt. I would like to thank all the helpers as without them the event wouldn't have taken place. All the ones I saw seemed to be smiling. Thanks David Needham

Just wanted to say thank-you for a great race. It was one of the friendliest and best organised events I have taken part in. I was worried beforehand about the bus to the start and a dozen other details, but it was all seemless and idiot proof. The hills at the end were a bit of a shock. I knew there were downhills, but I hadn't appreciated quite how steep they'd be - great fun - it was like being a child again! Thanks very much to all involved for a very enjoyable day out. Best wishes, Susan

Enjoyed it - good to have food at the end. The mug's an interesting colour - sixties bathroom suite. Thanks, Paul

Excellent race - well organised and marshalled. Fantastic course. I did the half and would recommend it to anyone - novice or experienced. It is a long way from my home but I hope to comeback again. Thanks for all the effort. I also missed the markers at 23 & 24 miles and I felt the headwind. That last downhill was almost too long and steep. I felt weak legged in the last mile. These are not constructive criticisms - just my observations. You have an excellent course with loads to commend it.

It really was probably the best organised race that I've ever entered - Ian Milne and MAC should be justifiably proud of it.

Thanks to all involved in organising, marshalling, ferrying, refreshments etc etc Very enjoyable, well run event. Very scenic course. You even kept
the good weather for us! I did lose sight of the mile markers after the 21 mile point (I was running the Half) but that may have done me a favour as I gave up worrying about whether I was on schedule!

Hi Ian

Have rated your race on RW website but thought I'd drop you a personal line as well just to say thanks from our little group. 8 of us travelled up to the Dales for the weekend, 7 running with one of the girls sidelined with a broken ankle.

We had a terrific weekend and the race was marvelous. I was pretty terrified at the start but there was a great atmosphere among the runners and the marshals were really friendly and supportive the whole way along. The race certainly was hard work but when I started feeling achy I just took a deep breath and had a look at the views and that helped to spur me on a bit further. I was elated to see the 26 mile marker as I was convinced I had about another mile to go at that point so for once I really did have a big smile on my face at the finish.

I think the only complaint my crew had was the lack of on tap Guinness at the finish...but we coped admirably with the cans! I do like a medal at the end of a long race like this but I like my mug and the good bag was very welcome - the orange juice was just lovely!

Thanks again for all the hard work put in by you and the team at MAC. My favourite comment from your marshalls was around mile 16 when I asked (again) 'are we going down yet?' to which he responded ' it is down, but its imperceptibly down'!! That kept us giggling all the way to the finish line and to the bar beyond!

Thanks for a great run in wonderful countryside - very good organisation wrapped in a friendly, laid-back atmosphere.

Despite my lack of training I was less than a minute outside my pb, and that was set in January when there was ice on the ground, my preferred running weather.

Thanks to you and everybody else from the club for all the hard work in organising the races. I'll be back next year!

Excellent race, good course with stunning views and well organised. This is one that I will do again and recommend to other Stamford Striders

North Herts Road Runners really enjoyed the half marathon with the exception of the long down before the finish which caused a couple of us to have to walk for a few seconds along the canal as quads were screaming! However we all ran really good times so we're not complaining. Scenery was stunning. Shame about the ice cold ladies showers; I know Paula Radcliffe sits in ice cold water but somehow I just couldn't bring myself to try it. We stayed in Bakewell youth hostel and walked over to Chatsworth House on Sunday; a great weekend. Will definitely be back next year and will be looking for other races in the vicinity as we all agreed we'd like to return. Many thanks for organising the race

Thanks for a great day on Saturday - the organisation was very good and the whole event friendly and welcoming - all of us who took part from Redhill Road Runners in Nottingham thoroughly enjoyed running the full marathon. We certainly hope to return next year! Congratulations on your interesting and good-looking site.

I've come to your site via the thank-you link on the Matlock AC / White Peak Marathon page. I did the Half Marathon on Saturday and greatly enjoyed the run, the scenery, the friendly atmosphere and the excellent organisation. I was most impressed by the rapid Web-posting of the results in .pdf format.

I am most grateful to you and the other organisers/helpers for a marvellous day - I don't think I've ever been to a better running event.

Hello, I would just like to thank the organisers for a wonderful event on Saturday. The organisation was brilliant and the route was beautiful. Best of all at the end, instead of getting a medal we got a banana and some plasters- much more usefull. Can't wait for the next one.

I ran the white peak marathon last Saturday (I was 166) and just wanted to say thanks for a great day out. I thought the whole thing was very well organised and I will certainly be back in future years. I was also wondering if it was possible to receive the results by email at this address?

Enjoyable race, well-organised and well-marshalled. How often do you get the chance to run a completely off-road half-marathon? Only criticism was the start - a rather narrow part of the trail. Could it not be moved back 30 metres or so, to the lane above the farm? Roger Morgan, Belper Harriers.

Thankyou for a wonderful marathon. I came to enjoy the day, and I did just that! Great marshalls and helpers, good facilities afterwards. Hope to be back next year, Lorraine Craib , Worksop Harriers.
P.S. I thought ours was the Scenic One !

"Excellent atmosphere, great organisation, and if there's a race in Britain with better scenery I haven't done it yet."

Feedback on the races greatly appreciated as it helps us to refine and improve our support for the runners on the day as well as pre and post event.

Copyright © 2006 Matlock Athletic Club