I've done a number of triathlons and i would have to admit that although the venue and facilities were good, the organisation on the day was shocking!

starting with registration- the people who registered us had no idea where transition, the start or race briefing were. only a small tiny map was placed on the floor infront of a pillar to indicate the route. the director was late giving out a race briefing- and even so no-one understood what she said over the microphone.

the so called marshal at the kissing gate, certaintly did not tell the 1st wave to turn around and loop back and there were no signs to make a u-turn at this point. Therefore to blame the competitors is appalling & to potentially disqualify them even worse!

There was extremely limited marshalling or signs on the run course- and you had to ask the guy by the entrance to mercedes world whether you were meant to make a u turn there as well!

overall a poorly organised duathlon- a great pity! i've known much better, with double the number of competitors.

This should have been a great little event however the quality of the administration and marshalling was really poor. At registration they couldn't tell you where either transition or the briefing were and as for the marshalling on the run - what marshalling ? To be told that we were all nearly disqualified for failing to run the right course when a) it wasn't clearly marked and b) there was no marshall controlling it is a ridiculous situation to find yourselves in. Enjoyed myself but so far away from the positive experience that is usually associated with such events.

Have to agree with all of the comments listed so far. I really enjoyed my race, which ever way we all ran! However the level of organisation was shocking. At the first gate, on the run, there wasn't a marshall present. The lady at the water table (which I now realise from the second run was the turning point) didn't give any instructions at all as we all ran past.

If we're all going to be disqualified for running the wrong way then perhaps we're all entitled to our money back.

Yes I also agree with the above. I had a great day but the organisation was appalling.

I asked three different marshalls where to go for the race briefing, where is the transition area and when was the prize giving - none could answer my questions!

To top it all I ended up doing 10 laps of the cycle track instead of 8 - after being told that someone would shout out when we were on the last lap - after getting no signal I even stopped and asked the lap counter after 9 laps if I had finished and he said I had one more to do! My friend also did an extra lap after getting no information from the lap counter.

I understand that a lot of these events are simply for charity but a large number of the competitors are keen to know their timings and want to do well - with the Mercedes name behind this event I had high expectations for efficiency and quality but that was not the case and as a company I would be rather embarassed about the poor image they gave to everyone.

I think the event was only saved by the fact that the sun came out and provided us with glorious weather - but I would never do it again.

Oh and the run sections are 4.8Km not 5Km - that may not mean much to the organisers but for the majority of us competitors that's around 45secs difference per leg - perhaps we will find out that the cycle section was incorrect too! This level of inaccuracy is not acceptable when nowadays someone sitting at a computer with Google Earth could give a more reliable measurement.

I did this event last year as my first ever multisport, with no idea whatsoever what to expect. My pal and I missed the race brief as we were slightly un-organised, but as we had read the race packs thoroughly, AND asked questions at registration, AND used common sense, AND had the capacity to count for ouselves (as asked), we had no problems whatsoever and really enjoyed the event...The same can be said of this year. I really cannot understand how anyone was so confused, guys, we are adults and do not need people telling us everything we need to do; bother yourselves with familiarising with the route etc., this IS something that 9/10 organisers request of the competitors. I'd like to think this attitude would enhance and contribute to, the atmosphere at events in our fledgling, under-funded but enthusiastic sport.
Leekyboy

I also entered this race as my 1st multi sport event last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, hence competing again this year. Last year both runs were short, this was fed back to the organisers who then went about making sure that this year both runs would be 5km, so to find out on the day they were to be 4.8km was a little disappointing.
I was towards the back of the 07:00 start and there was no marshall at the kissing gate so what were people supposed to do?!! If there had been a marshall there then shouldn't they have sorted it out when we reached that point for the 2nd time and turned people back rather than everyone doing the wrong lap for a 2nd time? I am shocked and disappointed to hear that they were thinking of disqualifying all the 07:00 starters and I would think that most of the 07:00 starters were in it for the enjoyment rather than to win the race overall.
To blame the competitors is shocking and I think the organisers should take some responsibility.
I would race this event again but more thought needs to be placed on the organisation.

I was lucky enough to be in the 2nd wave and so missed the problems on the run listed above for the 7am start.

However, the lady who won our race managed to do so after completing the first run behind the 2nd and 3rd placed ladies without lapping them on the bikes - interesting. When the lady who should have won advised the organisers of this error by the first placed lady - she was told nothing could be done. I appreciate it is difficult to check these things from an organisers point of view and that you have to rely on people's honesty but I would have been upset had I been the lady who should have won and ended up with 2nd.

For me, 3rd was still a great result but 2nd would clearly have been nicer.

I raced in this sport for several years and can only say that I have made a great move by doing time trialling only. WHAT A BUNCH OF MOANING IDIOTS!!! does anyone know how to look at a course before racing. If you went wrong you should it's your own fault!!! several years ago all the elites went wrong at Windsor and all got disqualified bar the switched on slow man who studied the course.
GROW UP, LEARN THE COURSE OR TAKE UP DARTS WHERE YOU CAN'T GET LOST LOSERS!!!

May I add that having watched all the moaning GPS, wattage counting- heart rate monitor studying competitors in the first wave, none had the speed to break into the 2nd wave results as they were far to busy following the man in front

Thanks for your comments phill, i'm sure you'll be a great loss to the duathlon/triathlon community!! I'm sure you'll have a great time driving around the country looking for the ultimate fast time!

No map of the running course was provided, no marshalls were present at the turnaround point and no signage was provided on the course. It's not really a surprise that people went the wrong way. At least everyone went the wrong way so there was still a race and we all managed to enjoy competing in the event.

I compete in this sport for the love of it, as i'm sure 99.5% of all the competitors who were there yesterday do. The competitiors competing in the first wave deserve just as much respect as those 'faster' competitors in heat two. If it wasn't for the entry fees paid by us lot in wave one I doubt that the finances would be there to stage the event and prize money for the 'faster' competitors wouldn't even exist.

Hope you get a good kicking in your next time trial!

I have to echo the comments about poor organisation. No one could tell us where the start was or the race briefing; the instructions for the run route both in the race pack and the briefing were utterly confusing for anyone who hadn't raced here before; the start klaxon went off about 10 seconds after we'd all started; there was no marshall to tell us to turn around at what I now understand was the 1st turnaround point and although the race briefing told us that there would be lap counters to shout our numbers when we'd done 7 laps, when I spoke to them they confirmed that they weren't doing so and weren't able to because people were going past too fast.

Having said all that, great venue for a race and plenty of friendly people taking part. If the organisers can get their act together for next year I'll be coming back.

I'm doing just fine at this new sport thanks and managed a win yesterday and again today. Oh and last week (all of which were on courses that I had never ridden so I took the time to study learn the route). I don't dispute that all competitors deserve the same respect. My gripe is with the ones that seem more intent on running exactly 5k, not 100 meters over or under. We all do our sports for fun and the minute we start getting too anal about it is the time we either turn pro or move on!!!

This was my first multi event and i enjoyed it thouroughly. I could not study the route as all that was given was a mercedes benz map of the circuit not the actuall route for the duathlon.

I asked at the marshall desk where the briefing was and no one knew! so i went to the race start. The race briefing was given but without a pen and paper there was no way i was going to remember the route ! I was in the first wave and the lady on the table did not say we were going the wrong way she just smiled and offered water! I did not run that way because i wanted to go the exact 5K !!!! i ran that way because thats where everyone else went and we were not stopped! so Phil i suggest you are the one being anal!

I enjoyed the morning and met some lovely people. I will definately be back next year!

"I won this week" "I won last week" "I studied the course" I'm f-ing brilliant! what a TWAT!

I raced here last year as my first race ever , it was great i really enjoyed it hence back this year. However when your are not the fastest runner you tend to follow the man in front especially if you cant hear the race briefing , and the course was altered from last year, so yes shame the first wave ran a bit further for the 2 runs.However the lady marshall at the kissing gate made no attempt to stop anyone going through the gate unless handing out drinks is code for turn round your going the wrong way ! Next came the bike i place the same number of bits of tape to laps on my crossbar the marshalls were supposed to call out when you started your eighth lap, as i came through nobody called out i completed my 8th lap and as i came round to the lap counters i called out im in this time imagine my suprise when no comes back ! No more tape to peel of what should i do stop and argue , go in anyway and risk being disquaified for ignoring a marshall or go round a 9th time and sort it out later ? I did the later , spoke to someone after the race and was advised it would be looked into. Much to my disapointment my NINE LAP time still stands. Lets hope next year it is better organised as this good be a truly great event.

Thanks for your comment Croyeagle, be expecting that language in my teenage sons playground not here.

This was my first Duathlon event and I would agree with Phil, we are all adults, and should take responsibility in planning for the event, the event infomation sent out was better than what I've had for some running events.

I was impressed that the registration was all up and running by the time I walked in at 6. It was my first event, but I found my way to the Transaction area, where they were very helpful.

The management was bad in late starting with no prior warning and I also couldn't here anything of the pre race briefing. It was my first event so I started at the back, on reaching the bridge I knew we should be turning around somewhere there, but thought I best follow the crowd. Shame, should have turned round and seen what would have happened. It was bad that there was only the one route board in reception, although looking at info sent out I knew where I was meant to be going. What would have been good was if the route was overlaid on the map sent out.

The lady there was manning the water table, she didn't know anything about the route, another marshall should have been there, and/or taped up the gate like it was on the second run. Still surely they cant disqualify you for running too far can they?

In the info, it clearly stated that people were responsable for counting their own laps but there would be a volunteer trying to help. I clearly called out my number and was told when going onto my last map. From what I saw some numbers were not clearly displayed on backs, and people were not calling out their numbers, what do they expect? My partner assisted at the lap counting for a short period, after abuse yelled at her by certain people she says she would not help again.

I also have a whine about riders, some of the "serious" riders gave me clear warning they were about to overtake, and I ensured I stayed out their way, others cut me up on the bends, almost pushing me off the track, I founf this very annoying to put it politely.

I enjoyed watching and yelling for the juniors, symapthy to the 15 year old who was sent out on his own, don't know why he couldn't have gone out with the younger ones.

Organisation needs some improving for next year. Marshalls were very helpful and encouraging and a big thank you goes out to them. Without them the event would not have gone ahead.

Hopefully see some off you again next year.

Well, its not the first or last time this will be a hot discussion. I understand both parties side of view. Firstly as a competitor, yes if you were in the first wave and there was some confusion and you are unsure before you start then just ask. On the other hand have you ever tried to organise an event even a small one. It is a nightmare as you can imagine.
At the end of the day we were all there for the same reason the love of the sport be it an elite (which I am certainly not) or just for fun. I went in the 2nd wave as I wanted to push myself further so to suggest that it is all about winning I'm sure it is not! Even though it is nice to :)
Just keep enjoying the sport, I'm sure we will all be out there again soon

As a runner of 40 years now, competing in many hundreds of events, organising and marshalling in loads too, I really looked forward to this one which promised so much.
The venue was absolutely superb, the cycle course, cycling marshals and m/cycle outrider were good. The organisation overall though was very poor. Many of the staff - though very pleasant did not really seem to know what was going on; and just about everything seemed to be late?
The maps sent out were very nice, but aren’t they for or visitors to M/B world? What relevance do they have to the duathlon? Simple maps relevant to the event normally tell competitors what they need to know like – parking, the transition area, the start, the finish, where the pre-race brief is etc. A simple course map also gives an important visual picture of roughly where we are going – which is not too difficult to remember!
None of that was known to most of us who have probably never been there before. Your written description - “The Campbell circuit, track, a gate, main path, turn right, a path, a kissing gate, a footbridge, turn round, asphalt path, grass verge, grass embankment, pavement, main access for vehicles, pavement, turning point, water station near the gatehouse, turning point under the bridge.”
How can you expect people to remember all that lot and without even a clue as to which direction they are running in?!

On the first run, there was no marshal at the kissing gate. I was 4th at that stage, 2 metres behind the leaders as we ran past the water table with a lady stood well behind it out of the way. She made no attempt to marshal anyone – that is by standing facing the runners, pointing or giving verbal instructions. To say she was ignored is simply wrong, she neither did nor said anything to ignore. Calling out (if she did) after the runners have already gone past and have gone wrong is not marshalling and is worse than useless. Marshals are there specifically to prevent such mistakes! You may like to consider the use of a U-turn board?
It was probably a simple unintended error but it spoilt the day for a lot of genuine people who had paid good money and in some cases travelled a long way. To blame the runners for running past an ineffective marshal; to then peremptorily just write them all off as deserving no sympathy - and to even consider disqualifying them all - is arrogant and nothing less than outrageous.
A briefing and a detailed course map are never a substitute for a properly marked and marshalled course. At no point should any competitor in a race (other than in orienteering) have to think “Which way now?” It should always be abundantly clear either by proper course marking or effective marshals – who marshall.
It is not a case of using/not using common sense, or of being grown up and responsible etc; I do all that when I train - because I am then totally responsible. When I pay to be in such an event it is to be able to concentrate on the event and not have to worry about all the logistics.

The lap counters on the cycle ride cannot possibly have clocked all the riders going through every time, sometimes groups 8 or 9 deep were flying past. Why not use microchips on each competitor and a trackside pickup? (Used in the Hellrunner, at Longmoor.) Additionally, telling competitors to count their own laps is inviting mistakes and cheating! I had a lap counter on my bike and did eight laps. I was the first rider out onto the bike ride and was overtaken by 4 riders during it. On the final run, I overtook at least a dozen runners on our 0700 start group and found I had finished at least halfway down the field?!

After the race at David Lloyd Brooklands, I was wearing my kit and race number and the girls on the desk had no idea what I was talking about. It took a minute or so to convince them to let me in.

Organising such a big event is not easy; criticising is. My comments are hopefully to avoid a repeat. The strength of feeling I and probably many others feel is the shameful and contemptuous way the marshalling error was blamed on the competitors.

Blaming others for your errors is easy - but makes matters very much worse.

Accepting responsibility for your errors and having the humility to apologise can be hard - but is often all that is needed.

On a positive note as first time Duathlon participants my wife and I enjoyed the race,venue and weather. However it is disappointing that the level of organisation detracted so much from everyone's efforts. I feel it unnecessary to repeat all the failures so well expressed. I know it is easy to criticise and hard to plan but surely without the basics - a clear well signed course, correct timing and lap counting - the event becomes meaningless for all.

It is difficult to gauge how well or badly we did - not very encouraging as first timers - but we are not deterred and will try again elsewhere - things can hopefully get better.

PS I wish I was fast enough to be in front then I could have also led the wild goose chase!

The event, although experiencing some technical problems, achieved it's main aim of providing a safe, fun environment for competitors of all abilities. Lets not forget that it is a small event aimed at raising money for charity.

Any event with numerous bike laps is going to cause some problems and honesty from competitors is required. If people are so concerned that they can't count to the right number then maybe they should use a speedo, measure one lap and then multiply it by the number of laps required. Once this distance is achieved then come into transition - it's not rocket science! Whilst I agree that timing chips would be useful, they too have a cost implications attached and would detract from the sums raised for the charity.

At the end of the day a mulit lap. multi terrain course is not going to produce a pb and, I am sure would not be anyone's "a" race of the season, so why not chill out, relax and remember what these kind of races are about - a challenge and a spot of fun!

When you write 'decided to ignore a marshall' in your race report i presume you are referring to the lady behind the drinks table who gave the leading group of runners in wave 1 (of which i was one) a vacant look when asked if this was the right way when we passed the first time and said nothing on the 2nd lap either, or maybe the gentleman at the second drinks table who did not express any surprise that we had approached from the opposite direction to what he must have been expecting and responded with a 'yes' when asked if this was the right way. Just to clarify , these were most definitely not 'marshalls' and we did not ignore the lady at the kissing gate as she neither spoke nor made any sign to us . There was also a complete lack of any signage indicating a 'turnaround' point at either drinks station, which must be a first in any race i've done with a turnaround, and the tape on the kissing gate was not added until after the first wave had finished their second wrong lap. Also there had been no map of the run course in the race pack and the written instructions were far from clear , telling us to 'turn sharply right' at the turning point ...well how were we meant to know it was a turning point as it wasn't marked as such ? and aren't you meant to 'turn round' at a 'turning point' , not turn right ? :

"Turn right and continue along the path towards the ‘kissing-gate’ under the footbridge. Turn sharply right at the turning point and return back along the asphalt path, with a grassed embankment to your right and grass verge to your left. You will continue along this route until the path gives way to pavement and the main access road for vehicles. This is a private road "

There was also an obvious lack of any of the race organisers for the early start and , as we had been advised to get there at least an hour before the start this meant a 4:30 alarm call for me , shame the organisers weren't able to get match the commitment of the competitors to get out of bed early enough to marshall for the 7am start.

As for the bike leg , i am 100% sure that plenty of people did the wrong number of laps and yet when i asked the 'lap counters' if everything had gone ok , they had not managed to spot a single discrepancy in the laps they were 'counting' despite admitting that they 'kept missing people as they couldn't see the race numbers' . I fully appreciate that they had an impossible task in the circumstances , but they were clearly just making up some of the lap counting .

My son competed in the 11-12 year Junior race and found the whole experience fantastic. Great venue, weather and no issues with the organisation of the kids races other than the late start.

Editor your comment at the start of article is wrong. She was manning the water table, as was the man at the other water table, they was not route marshalls. People did not ignore her, she had not been made aware of the route or asked to direct runners.

Still ennoyed the event (just going with the fast group next year, so go the shorter route)......

Hi all

Brighton ain't that far away, is it?! 1hour drive?
I enjoyed the Withdean duathlon there ... which was well organised and quite a demanding course. So maybe think about participating there next year :-)
Racing a bit further from home is an awesome experience: you explore new areas, meet some other/new competitors and maybe some of the less wellknown, smaller events can turn over time into big organisations. :-)

Having marshalled this event last year and run in the first wave this year I can see this from both sides.
I was not in the front of the wave and by the time I got to the kissing gate under the bridge the marshal was actually directing people through it.I am not in the habit of stopping and arguing with the marshals even if I think they may be wrong.This is because I am not an argumentative person who likes upsetting people and my name is not Phill
I think Sharon did a great job and it is a shame that one marshal who is not sure of their role can cause this much confusion.Having said that all the marshals are giving up their time to help so thanks to all who did , I really enjoyed the event.

Guys - As the organiser of the race, I think having read and digested your comments, that I should hold my hands up and apologise for the way the race turned out on Saturday. Due to a number of last minute unavoidable difficulties (such as key marshalling staff being unable to turn up after previously offering their time, and time constraints in setting up the course etc. etc.) things did not run as smoothly as planned. We could have made the very late decision to abandon the event (and invite more negative feedback), but given that many of you had travelled a long way, we had beautiful weather on our side and what you all agree is a great venue to race at - decided to go ahead.

The benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing and I know better than to commit to a future race date, unless I can assure you that another event will not go ahead until we can cover the bases as much as is possible. Your feedback was taken on board, most of which I agree with.

On a positive note, we have also received a lot of comments via other sources, from novice athletes particularly (about 50% of the entry list were first timers) who were racing for the charity that the duathlon was designed to attract. They all enjoyed it, were v. admiring of those who could teach them a thing or two (they were particularly impressed by the race kit you wore and your bikes!) and have now been bitten by the multi-sport bug. We also raised at least £2000 (excluding sponsorship) for Sam Beare Hospice - so thank you for your support, and a huge thanks also to all the marshals/volunteers who were present on the day and who were doing a difficult job under enormous pressure.

Once again, apologies for the way things went, but hope to see at least some of you again next year.

All the best,
Sharon T

As a novice to Duathlons this was my first race and I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it even if I did run 1k too far. I am sure that most people in the first race know what time they can run 1k in and like me will simply subtract that time to give a good indication of the time they would have done the correct distance in. Phil, I would have just managed to break into the second group by a couple of seconds and would even have come away with 3rd placed Novice!!!

As far as "Kissinggate" is concerned, I was in the leading group of three runners who did not know where to go and simply carried on straight ahead. If I had known that I would be leading as a novice, then I might have been worried when I could not hear the race briefing. I, like others, thought I would simply have to follow the person in front. Next time I will pay more attention just in case I end up leading a race again. I wonder what Richard Stannard would have done had he been leading the first race and if he had run straight on whether Phil would have been running along behind! Sorry Phil, I am sure you would have been leading. ;-)

I will definitely be back next year with a map in one hand and a lap counter in the other. Nothing could possibly go wrong....could it????

WELL DONE SHARON - FANTASTIC RACE!!!!!I've read all the comments so far - glad that all comments are made in good taste.. (PHILL) - If Phill wasn't injured I'm sure he would have given Richard Stannard a good run for his money...(Anal)..Can't wait for next year..