Maniac Fall Festival Run/Walk

Ran 5K distance and on the positive side:
- good prizes
- rec centre facilities are available to runners

On the negative:
- course is ~5.2km
- poor marshalling
- timing was completely screwed this year. I was 2nd overall but no prize :-(

I may consider running it next year but just for fun and without wearing a chip.

Marshalling is very poor with the 15km...misdirected......

Distance is incorrect.....only 14.3km

Race results very slow to get out
When registered told we would get gloves, got insulated coffee mug (would have preferred gloves)

I love the route of this race. We ran through the streets of Newcastle, along the lake and on wooded trails! I signed up for this race because I was expecting to receive a pair of gloves at the finish line along with a travel mug. No gloves but the mug is useful! What disappointed me the most was that I had a PB and when I looked at the posted results MY TIME WAS WRONG!!! We were told at the awards ceremony that some runners were taking the wrong chips and that was the reason for the incorrect times. I was handed mine by a volunteer that gave me the chip that corresponded to the number on my bib so I don't know why the error with my time. (Thanks Garmin for getting the right time!) My friend and I stayed for the prize draws but they weren't random prizes as we had expected. Prizes were awarded to first, second and third place in each age group. Congrats to the winners! This is a nice scenic race that I'd probably do again because its priced well but I didn't appreciate the organizers blaming the runners for the mistakes with the timing.

Good scenic race. Could have used a few more volunteers at the end. There were 3 of us in the 15k that got off course, but luckily the volunteers further ahead caught our mistake. Tech shirt was nice as was the finishers cup we received.
Would run this race again.

The webpage had traveller mug but Running Room registration page had gloves. I was hoping for both but expected it to be the mug & RR wasn't updated from last year or something.
The course is nice with two parts going by a pretty lakeshore. The course was not well marked. There was a point you got out of the forest path and had no clue which way to go. Also at the end I guess they assume that only locals are running it so no direction on where finish was, I had to ask.
Worst part was I got stopped by a two minute freight train delay 3k into the course! One of the volunteers said someone last year crossed when the bars were going down so that makes it an annual issue.
There was an issue with people taking the wrong timing chips as well as they were the ankle ones.
I would consider running this again if Newcastle were closer but I'd probably look for something more local instead that weekend.

A nice run with a pretty good shirt, and plenty of hydration, however, it stops there. There was not enough trail markers and while my my group found our way we heard others complaining about taking the wrong path. The kicker was the changing of the item we receive at the end of the race. When signing up for the race online under the frequently asked questions if states "We are unique! So unfortunately that medal will not collect dust, but you will earn a classic pair of running gloves." This was the main reason I signed up for the race. Race gloves are a cool and useful item for finishing a race. In stead we got Tim Horton travel coffee cups. I don't drink coffee, so yes I'm disappointed! FYI I would have paid a bit extra to get the gloves or since it was a charity race I would have donated to get the gloves. I would go again but it would be nice to know what you are actually getting, if you need to donate for specific items, or where you are going without having to look for paths/roads.