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Here’s what previous participants had to say:

Julien, one of our Help to Claim advisors at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire, ran 10K at the Great Bristol Run 2023. He raised a fantastic £350 for our work which was put towards our telephone adviceline. He said, “He said: “I have always enjoyed running. I am very slow but for longer distance I am very good. It clears your head after a week of work. Running in a big city is really good fun.”

Krystal, who lives in Yate, came to us in 2022 after wanting to run for a local charity. She completed her first 10K at the Great Bristol Run 2023, raising a fantastic £180.
She writes, “I enjoy running. I now run or jog 2/3 times a week for enjoyment, and for good mental health, I have also lost over 4 stone from exercising regularly and wanted a challenge of running a 10km. I wanted to help a local cause for the great Bristol Run 2023, so fundraised for Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire after seeing their post on Instagram. I was then tempted to sign up for the Bath Half as another fitness goal, then was asked kindly if I would consider running for them again in the Bath Half. To which I greatly accepted. I thinks it’s important to help within your local community and that’s exactly what the volunteers at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire do.”

She enjoyed it so much that she ran again for us at the Bath Half Marathon 2023!

Krystal after completing the Bath Half – outside the Jane Austen museum

“Personally, the Bath Half Marathon was an amazing experience for me. I started off at the back of the Orange Wave at 11am. It was very congested, which was beneficial as it allowed for not taking off too fast to preserve energy. My goal was to run 5km then walk 0.25km, repeating this in total four times to complete the 21kms. The route was beautiful and very scenic with wonderful architecture. I really enjoyed going over the River Avon and seeing all the allotments. There were spectators cheering you on throughout the whole route, which was so supportive and kept you going. The energy was fantastic with many people offering sweets and even Super Mario power up signs to high-five. These were great fun to keep spirits running high. It was lovely to see others come together to support many meaningful charities, especially the fire fighters in full gear and even a hockey player in a goalie kit. That’s got to be hard.”

Maya, a general adviser at Citizens Advice South Gloucestershire who lives in Frenchay, completed the Bath Half Marathon 2023 run in 1hr 55mins.

She said: “I can confidently say that I felt incredibly uncomfortable the entire way. Normally I really enjoy most of a run – especially event runs – but Sunday was one of those days where I felt incapable. The atmosphere was incredible – it really does spur you on. I think that the unsung heroes of races are the people that hand out sweets  – life savers. Bath is such a beautiful city to run through as well, especially on a day as lovely as Sunday – crisp air and bright blue skies. I would do it again – but I would do more training!”