The Brett Lydd 20 Mile & Half Marathon

Shame about the bottleneck right after the start line and the flood across the road in the first mile. Many runners, myself included, didn't want to be several inches deep in water so soon after leaving the start. There was a field right next to it that water could have been pumped onto. Instead, many runners were at a standstill trying to hold on to a barbed wire fence while traversing a very slippery, muddy verge which was only about a foot wide. This added a significant amount of time on to everyone's first mile.
Beyond that the course was good. Killer last three miles into the wind though.

Bizarre "early-start" for some runners caused frustration amongst those waiting was compounded by the late start for main field due to way too few staff issuing race numbers. Insufficient toilet facilities.

Shame that there was congestion immediately after crossing the start line.
Still, I really enjoyed my inaugural South Coast HM

Conditions were very challenging. Thought the first big puddle could have been cleared - this ended up being a bottle neck and broke up the pack. General organisation was good. Whilst the course is flat, it was much harder than expected. Not a great deal of support along the route, but appreciated those that stood out in the poor weather conditions. Great medal.

The weather on the day was grim so it was always going to be a challenge! It was very windy and cold at the beginning and we started nearly 15 mins late - half of which was spent "listening" to an inaudible tannoy - what could you have possibly have needed to say that took so long - given that the communication was completely ineffective?
Once we passed the starting gun we were then herded round some huts with a narrow walk way - so more standing still while people got through the gap - the next holdup you couldn't have done much about as we then went into "steeplechase" with 6-8 inches of water crossing the road - the locals could probably have told you that that would be a flood point.
Right, got that off my chest!!
The volunteers all round the course were lovely. Big shout out to the local scouts who were there with the water, jelly babies and jaffa cakes
The atmosphere on the course was really nice - lots of encouragement from the front - mid-runners to others who were finding the course a challenge
The end was well organised with lots of drinks available and fig rolls (my personal favourite)
It would be good to have had someone on loo roll duty - running out by 20 mins before the start (unless there was a secret corona-hoarder squirreling them away!)
For those who don't care for hills this was a wonderful pancake- flat course through some lovely Kent countryside and big skies

A lovely flat course. All the volunteers handing out drinks and directing the runners did a great job. They were out in the wind for a lot longer than most of the runners and were really encouraging. I could not have faulted their enthusiasm. Thank you.

Not well organised. It was over a 10 minute wait to start and when we did, everyone went at once which caused a log as soon as you started. The lakes on the roads could of been pumped or pallets could of been placed over. Route was lovely but think the direction could of been better, at 10 miles you run around a cone and run back. There was no goodies, just jaffa cakes in a bowl with water or some sort of can drink.

Really enjoyed this event despite all the windy weather. It would be a PB course on a good day.
Start was a bit late as people were still queuing for numbers, bag drop and toilets so could have done with more toilets or more parking locations as I don’t think people left enough time to park and get to the start.

The course is an easy out a back, nice and flat. The wind on the way back was quite strong and challenging but no one can change the weather. The start was a bit of a mess, we ended up starting over 10mins late, people were beginning to get very cold. The marshals and the youngsters handing out the water were fantastic. We parked about 5 minutes away in a side street, just to avoid any chaos on the way out. It was not on closed roads but it really was not that busy, I saw about 8 cars in total over the 2hr30m I was out there for. I really loved the run and would love to do it again.

Lydd is good marathon training as it’s a very flat course. Yesterday was tough because of the prevailing wind. This year the race started more than 10 minutes late because there were either too many entrants or there were issues around organisation. I think on a 20 mile race there should be toilet facilities at some point along the route. I also think there should be energy drinks (there only seemed to be water available).
Finally, it was disappointing that so many runners had chosen to litter the route with their empty gel packets.