The Norwich Half Marathon is a good entry into the distance, a loop starting at the Norwich showground and working its way out on a mostly flat course around the surrounding countryside on closed roads with porta-loos at water stops and pacers up to 2:45 it provides an easy introduction to longer races.
I had previously had this booked in 2024, but didn’t make it to the start line due to burnout from the Amsterdam marathon the month before. This time I tackled it with my wife as her first marathon and important stepping stone toward her first marathon.
The Medal
A high quality silver medal with enamel colouring depicting 3 runners and displaying the sponsors name and logo with the name of the race. It also has a space on the reverse to insert an ITab.
I appreciate that it is important for races of this size to have sponsors, and important to those sponsors to have prominent branding to make the most of their investment, but I don’t like how prominent the sponsors name and logo appear on the main pendant. I think it makes it feel like a billboard rather than an token of achievement from the race.
| Weight | 72g |
| Dimensions | 70mm x 70mm |
| Material | Metal |
The Ribbon is high quality, silky and wide with sharp text and vivid colours displaying the name of the race, date, organiser and title sponsor. The ribbon is fused together meaning that there is no untidy stitching but the ribbon could have been cut straight, this looks like a manufacturing issue.
Overall I rate this medal 7/10
Other than the overt advertising on the medal, the overall package is high quality and displays the correct level of achievement for the race, I’m personally not a fan of the design of the medal but that’s more of a personal feeling
