This is my second year doing this one and it was as good as ever. 800-1000 runners. A challenging road course with rolling hills. Plenty of aid stations. Also, you can choose up to three aid stations to have your drinks deposited. You shout out your number and they bring you your drink. It's perfect. A really good medal and tech shirt in the goody bag.

Small marathon set in the Essex countryside. Plenty of parking. Marathon offers the option of bringing 3 of your own drinks to be placed around the course. No expo. Apprx 1000 runners. Race volunteers are everywhere and very helpful. Def in the top 2 of my favorite marathons. A must run!

A great spring marathon with challenging hills. The organization was just amazing. You get a goody bag, a T-shirt, and a lovely medal. It's not chip-timed, but the results are posted quickly on the web-site.

This is an excellent race. The course is an undulating figure 8, which is run twice, and with most of the worst hills in the first 5 miles it is easier than it could be. It passes through lovely countryside and there is almost no traffic to deal with. The only downside is that most of the final mile is run on grass and includes a fairly steep, albeit short, hill.

The organization is excellent, with 5 drinks stations, each passed twice, with the option of having your own drinks at them. The start and finish is at a leisure center, so there are changing and shower facilities. The goody bag is generous, the medal is excellent and the t-shirt is decent.

Spectators are limited on most of the course, but one section of road, which is passed four times, is heavily supported, and the marshals on the quieter sections are very encouraging.

One small negative is the lack of chip timing, but in a small field, it doesn't cost too much time, and it is unlikely to be a course on which you would run a PB anyway.

This was my 57th standard marathon, and I can honestly say that it was one of the better that I have run. As an African, I am used to harsh and hot conditions, with very little shade and quiet country lanes. The Halstead Marathon was special in many ways. The spectators were fantastic and the marshalls very friendly. The course is very fast and the miles just seemed to slip by. The actual mile markers could have been slightly larger, though. All in all, a memorable day.