Paddock Wood Half Marathon - 28th March 2004
Mike Bradfield

Website: www.paddockwoodhalf.co.uk
Location: Paddock Wood, near Tunbridge Wells, about an hour round the M25
Entries: 1800 entries, approx 1500 finishers
Grade: Gold
Facilities: Superb. The site has room to accommodate the field with ease. The baggage area is covered and secure, and there are pre/post race massage facilities and a physiotherapist available. Toilets were adequate despite some problems with signposting them.
Car Parking: The town seemed to swallow the cars with ease. There are multiple large carparks within 1K of the race start.
Course: The start is a little narrow through the gantry, and is a little twisty getting off the race site. It immediately opens up into good quality road. The first two miles are traffic free and include the one climb, about 200m long after 1.25 miles. It's about the same steepness as Peascod Street. The rest of the course is Kansas-like in its flatness around very quiet country roads.
Drinks Stations: At least 4, at regular intervals - also sponge stations. As I was near the front of the field I don't know whether they had adequate supplies. No isotonic drinks. Well signposted from 200m ahead.
Finish: Didn't see any queues in the funnels
Goodie Bag: disappointing, even though I got two! A pen, a banana, and some instantly binnable advertising junk.
Results: Out the same evening to the website as a PDF file.
Photographs: Still waiting for the online stuff to go up, five days later