This event was brilliantly organised, painstakingly 'manned' and superbly supported; the organising team and all their helpers and volunteers should be incredibly proud of what they all managed to put on for the whole field of runners.

Lead up to the event
Brilliant social media updates from weeks out - added to the 'build up' to race day itself. Communication was a real strong point, with helpful emails full of information and links - all helping to answer queries before even needing to ask!

(Pre-) Race Day
The ability to register and collect number bibs the day BEFORE the event meant that pressure 'on the day' was much reduced. Signage ('Start', 'Toilets', 'Bag Drop' etc.) was already in place the day before too - so allowed me to familiarise myself with where I'd actually need to go on race morning. Registration (and T-shirt collection, although I didn't order one, so didn't need to collect one!) was very well organised and, consequently, 'quick'. Thanks to the museum for allowing a takeover of its facilities for this (and 'bag drop')! Having a central pedestrian zone for pre-race 'gathering', admin (and toilets!) was brilliant.

On race morning, I confess I felt a little overwhelmed, as a newcomer and 'lone' runner; so many runners knew others or were part of a 'team' or 'friendship' entry, but I felt a bit like a lost sheep to begin with. The start funnel (as I've seen others mention) was confusing for me; I didn't want to end up with the fast runners, but I DID want to try and stay close to the 2hr 30min pacer.... however she didn't seem to know where to start from and was then moved around by an organiser, which made it tricky for the runners around her to then move too. It was rather crowded and faster runners who arrived at the BACK of the queue, later, were then trying to weave through us slower mortals in the rush to, and for the first mile after, the start line.

I absolutely loved the scenic route - but couldn't manage to run up ALL the hills; a few minutes walking were definitely needed here and there in the latter part of the race. As other reviewers have mentioned, I, too,felt a little vulnerable in a few places where cars were weaving in and out of runners on (not solely!) narrow roads, in both directions; not necessarily anything the organisers can do about it, but worth consideration by runners as part of their decision to sign up for the event.

Signage throughout the course was brilliant (slight confusion on return to Silk Mills Road for the left turn from the hill down from Bishops Hull; the Marshall said he had thought the road was going to be closed to traffic, but we were having to interweave with some cars to get to the hashed area in the middle of the road.)

The Marshalls were all brilliant; very visible, very vocal and hugely supportive. I came to appreciate just WHY our name was printed onto our number bibs; hearing complete strangers cheer you on - by NAME - gives a huge boost to energy levels when you start to flag a little! Massive 'Thank You' to all the high viz. heroes!!!

I got better at accessing the water at the refreshment stations as I went through the race; like others have said, I felt DREADFUL not managing to get my cups into a bin before setting off again - but with so many bodies to see/move around, it was tricky! (I agree with all those who have mentioned the issues with the aid station by the bridge at Bradford on Tone.)

The final mile was just 'something else' for someone like me, who had only previously experienced running along all on my own; the drum band could be heard on the approach - and that was enough to give me an initial boost. By the time I turned into the final stretch, the noise and cheering from SO many supporters made my tired little legs just start working by magic! What a fantastic sense of achievement to cross the finish line!! The finishers medal is a lovely memento of the day.

If I'm honest? My one disappointment is that there was no 'official' photograph of us mid-late finishers, with our medal; I thought that the finish funnel might 'guide' everyone to such a photo opportunity (IF we wanted it) but if this WAS happening, I clearly slipped through the net. Luckily, a family member had managed to get somewhere near to the finish, so she was able to quickly snatch an image of me 'in the crowd', so at least I've got something to share with others.

I was initially confused by the results, which didn't seem to tie up with my (Garmin) watch - but I have now read a few organiser responses to timing queries from other runners, in these reviews, and realise that there had actually been some kind of glitch with the timing system, which was then corrected; on checking back, my result now shows a revised time - which fits perfectly with what my watch had recorded.

All in all, a very memorable and (bizarrely!) enjoyable foray into 'official' half marathon running! Thank you so much!!!!

Newcomer here - found start funnel a bit daunting, especially as pace makers also seemed unsure where to start from. Out on the roads, overtaking cars were a bit disconcerting at times; pulling in between runners to let cars through from other direction. (I also felt the official Finish Line videos were VERY expensive for what they actually turned out to be!) There was clearly some minor confusion with results in the first few hours, as mine got altered (in my favour

This was a really well organised half marathon. From the communication emails sent prior to the race, the signage along the course, and the amount of support along the way was mind blowing. You were never far away from having someone cheer you on and creating such an uplifting atmosphere. So many thanks to the marshals and the public to gave great encouragement. Even the local bishop of a village was out cheering people on.
Plenty of water stations along the way, which some had the option of gels if preferred.
Some people have said this course is hilly, personally I felt it wasnt that bad and would be a great first half marathon. Trust me, runs in parts of Cornwall are far worse!! Lol.
The only thing I would suggest for improvement would be to try and reduce the plastic waste at water stations, maybe paper or reusable cups?
Well done to all involved...

I really enjoyed the event. It was a tough course with many hills. There was a lot of support along the course from locals as well as supporters of individuals. The steel band were fabulous and always give me a boost. Taunton Museum was a great place to collect your number, drop your bag, if you had one, enjoy great food from the cafe and use the toilets. The staff there were so friendly. The one negative was around the checkpoint near mile 8 where it was very hard for the Marshalls to monitor the runners, while trying to control the traffic coming over the bridge. They were working so hard but it was just too busy, and narrow.
I did the event in 2017 and the start and finish location this year was so much better.

The medal was amazing. I would definitely recommend the race and organisers again. Congratulations on bringing it back.

Well done Dave, Dan and Alex. You should be very proud

Really loved my first ever half marathon, already signed up for next one. Amazing organisation, support was fabulous. Loved the steel band!
Support along the way was incredible. Thank you.

Starting pen would work better loading from the back. Bigger PA system- so can hear instructions. Traffic was a bit disconcerting on way out to Oake

Feedback - I feel that the road through Bradford on tone especially the small bridge to the church should have been closed. Quite a few spectators have also said the same. Bridge very small to pass.
Also maybe more Marshalls on the Norton to oake road as road was quite long on your own & became quite dangerous on the road at times lots of traffic especially through Norton & coming out.
Also maybe to have a sign to say smile photographer ahead so you know when you might see a photographer. The photos too expensive to buy!

Fantastic atmosphere, well supported and organised. Super route an absolutely banging run.

The entry transfer process didn't work well, and needs reviewing.
Otherwise a tremendous effort to resurrect this event, and the organisers did really well to expand and improve the day. It's an enjoyable half marathon, and the finish in the town centre was really good.

This was a fantastic event which was well-organised. The atmosphere was euphoric. Sadly, the chip timings were inaccurate which took the shine from the experience for me having to try and get it resolved after the race.

Two slight improvements from my perspective, 1) the start funnel wasn't that well organised, so the start was slow. Needs to be wider/longer and have markers for speed. 2) there were people running carrying speakers playing music the whole way which was outputting and selfish (although did motivate me to run faster to get away from then)

For 2027, just need to ensure start line is better organised. Many people ended up in the wrong ‘corral’ for their finishing time due to being in the wrong place. Just need better flow to the start line. Also, a pdf map would be beneficial showing direction of route and key points. Other than that, race tee is excellent quality as was the finisher medal.