Toughrunneruk Reviews 138

A real shame that this company are still running. They will no doubt put people off entering organised endurance events with their scamming ways. After delays on edinburgh trialthon for two years. The event was suddenly cancelled due to “family issues” reading previous reviews this is highly doubtful. Having received two emails stating I would get a refund. The company have not done anything about it. And now have ignored emails. A whole group of us signed up and experienced the same thing. The company is a total sham

Marshalled for bristol triathlon. No payment received and no responses to emails, messages, calls, WhatsApp. Very dishonest of them which is a shame as it was such a nice event to be part of.

Cancelled the Edinburgh Triathlon the week of the event back in July.
Had emails back and forth with Naomi until I asked for a refund... Then silence.
Sent numerous emails since and had nothing back.
Disappointing as the running events I have done have been enjoyable.
Would advise to avoid.
An organisation ran by unprofessional and dishonest people.

Owes my family money for unpaid invoices. Won’t pay anymore (despite agreeing the fee) because his dad said so 😂
Currently drawing up court documents with other unpaid venues to get our money back.

Terrible.

You will not be refunded should they cancel events and will ignore all correspondence. See earlier reviews whereby people have required to initiate legal proceedings to get money back.

I challenged them on this point via Facebook and rather than actually sort the matter and provide a refund, they just blocked me. Some way to run a company…

Update: after having been offered a refund for a cancelled event over a month ago (which never came through and all correspondence being ignored since) I have today received an email offering only a switch to a new event! It’s clear you will not get your money back and this is a desperate attempt to avoid paying out. I know several other people in the same boat. Who knows how much money they have stolen from people using this approach. If you read their terms and conditions, the only way they are entitled to not give refunds is due to an act of god, which did not apply in the case of the Edinburgh Triathlon.

The sad thing is I would’ve signed up to further events had this matter been sorted as it should have, but I won’t touch this company with a barge pole now. Wish I had read reviews first….

Great event. Experienced 3 as a competitor and volunteered at 2. Very enjoyable experience all

It seems that if Tough Runner events go ahead, they are good, but many (including mine) get cancelled last minute. Since the cancelation over a month ago there has been no communication, refunds or deferring the race. All the correspondence I've sent has been ignored. I wish I had checked reviews first and seen all of the 1 stars warning about this... they have basically stolen a lot of peoples race fees, cancelled races and ignored those people.

UPDATE Oct 23: They sent a generic email offering to transfer my entry to a handful of other races across the country or transfer the entry to Edinburgh Triathlon 2024 but with no date or information about when this would be. I honestly do not trust this event to happen and have lost the entry fee as they still are ignoring any correspondence. My advice is, enter their races only if you're happy it may be cancelled last minute and you don't mind not getting your money back.

Wye Valley Trail 10k. A really good fun event. Excellent course made more interesting by the torrential downpour beforehand. Agile thinking by the organisers on the day having to cope with the weather and a car boot sale in the same field. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Wye valley 10k. I had unfortunately injured my knee a week prior to the event and had received a email some weeks before asking for volunteers. So I decided to take up the opportunity to give a helping hand. All dealt with smoothly through email, on meet up all was very relaxed and easy going made to feel very welcome by Adam and the team. Great location, Fantastic views.
Looking forward using my free entries places from volunteering.

I have now been involved in 4 Tough Runners events this year. Adam and the team are fantastic and enjoyed each ever. Two trail half marathons and two trail 10KS. Commutation with Adam and the team is first class.

Always a pleasure to do tough runner.
Events . Adam and his team always do a great job

10k race but came up at 9.1 so very short of distance and so misjudged pace. Pretty route but the path was so overgrown with nettles up to my shoulders and path so narrow on sections you couldn’t pass.they said the had cleared a path but a few of us said it didn’t show. Wye Valley 10k. £5 parking for a field.

I've had the same disappointing experience as earlier reviewers regarding the Cork triathlon.

I had one email saying that the delay in processing refunds has been caused by a change in management. But since then, I've had no reply to follow up emails.

It doesn't feel like the company has any intention of refunding entry fees.

The average triathlon in Ireland has about 200 entrants - so at €80 each, Toughrunner seems to be intent on keeping somewhere in the region of €16,000 that doesn't belong to them.

St ives tri May 2023...

I believe they never had any intention of going ahead with this race from the start. Having cancelled it just weeks out, I rang a lady on the council to ask why and she said she was confused on why this was not going ahead, as nothing there end was a problem.

I emailed Adam Newton the Director and he came up with his accuses and said there would be a follow up email.

The email gave you 3 options, the one was for a full refund, looking back just seems an easier way to defelect you from emailing and ringing them.

Anyway its now July after several emails with no response, i tried there messenger. They replied to my first message which was an open question and then soon as i mentioned my refund they ignored everything that followed.

Looking at these reviews i can see they've been at it for a while.
Cant imagine how many people they've ripped off who have forgotten or not bothered to chase them up.

Its not about the money its about showing people that this so called organisation are fraudsters, they just pray on people who just want to make their lives better.

I hope people read these reviews and stay well clear.

Adam Owen Newton and Co hope your proud of yourselves???

Strap yourselves in, folks...

I was one of the unlucky ones that was duped into thinking this was a legitimate company that value their customers. I would be gobsmacked if half of the positive reviews on here are actually from real people...

I had signed up for the Edinburgh Triathlon back in 2021, which was understandably postponed due to Covid.

The Triathlon was rescheduled to a date that I couldn't attend, but instead of being offered a refund, the only options available were to sign up to another event - which I didn't want to do as I hadn't signed up for those. No lawyer will tell you that is a legitimate alternative. If they cannot provide you with the service that you paid for, you are entitled to a refund. Fact.

In the 11 (yes, ELEVEN) months since I asked for a refund, the following has happened:

1. Well over 20 emails and attempted calls

2. Two complaint letters - to which Adam finally replied in April 2023 - "I'm sorry for the delay in responding to you on this. I'm keen to get this resolved. Can you please confirm the refund amount and I'll get this sorted ASAP." More fool me for believing him...I was met with radio silence for months once I confirmed the amount and gave him my bank detail

3. Contacted Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service for advice and was successful in obtaining a decree stating I am legally entitled to a full refund

4. Upon telling Adam I have every intention of asking Sherriff Officers to enforce the decree and make Tough Runner pay what they owe me, he responded SECONDS after, stating "This will be done tonight" - referring to the refund

5. Adam followed up the following morning stating that the payment had been made.
It hadn't.
Despite my constant requests since for a receipt or proof of payment, I have yet again been ignored.

I'm absolutely gobsmacked that any company would treat it's customers with such apathy.

My strong suspicions, having seen similar reviews on this site, are that they hope that people will eventually just give up so that they can hoard customers' hard-earned money. Of course, this has not stopped Tough Runner bombarding me with emails to sign up for other events...funny, that...

This is an atrocious company and I will not hesitate to tell anybody considering participating in their events to avoid them at all costs.

Will update if the refund miraculously appears in due course...I'm not holding my breath...

UPDATE: just left a comment on their Instagram to see if they would respond...minutes later, said comment is gone, along with another comment from somebody else with the same issue...you couldn't make it up!

UPDATE #2: was contacted by Adam this morning (26/7/23) stating that "After further thoughts, I’ve reported you to Police Scotland for Harassment and Financial harassment." Always lovely to be threatened by someone who is illegally holding someone else's money! I responded saying that I would be delighted to talk to the Police about this, as:
a) Financial harrassment isn't even a thing
b) I'd love to know how I have harassed Tough Runner financially, when it is actually they who are breaking the law in refusing to refund me
c) Having spoken with people I know in the Police service, the "reference number" Adam gave me is not even an official Police Scotland reference number for anything

So, as well as illegally withholding my refund, I am now being lied to about the "report" in the hope that I will back down.

Have since contacted my legal representatives and Sherriff Officers as this has gone way above a simple refund request and is a matter of pure principle. What an absolutely abhorrent way to run a business.

UPDATE #3: FINALLY managed to get some compensation from Tough Runner - well over a year after I'd originally asked for it.
I had to go through the HM Courts & Tribunals Service Money Claims Service (this will cost you £35, so please keep this in mind if you go down this route). Adam rejected this claim (surprise surprise) but the good thing about this service is that it then goes to a free mediation service, where the mediator will act as a conduit between yourself and Tough Runner to try and find a compromise. Furthermore, if you do manage to find a settlement, they HAVE to pay you within 24 hours or they have breached the agreement and you can either claim for everything or take them to court.
In the end, I managed to get the race fee plus most (but not all) of my legal costs reimbursed. I must note that it took three rounds of negotiating with the mediator to get even that amount back - Adam tried tooth and nail to keep as much of my money as possible.

I hope this helps others in a small way in that it may be a solid route of getting your race fees back. I will continue to share my experience far and wide as no customer deserves to be treated the way this sham of a company is treating them.

Fantastic route - challenging and scenic, taking in the tracks and trails of Fforest Fawr.

However - the race organisation had a few issues!

The organiser delayed the start (keeping the other 300 of us waiting in the rain) so that the handful of stragglers from the registration area could make it. The race pack didn't make it clear that it was a 10 min walk, but there was enough time to make it if you stuck to the timings in the pack.

There were a handful of canicross entrants (I didn't see this as an option when entering!), who were set off first about a minute ahead of everyone. Given the spread of abilities, this meant that most of the field had to over-take some very enthusiastic dogs within half a mile. I don't think this was good for anyone.

Finally - they had an ebike-riding "safety marshal" who somehow felt it necessary to blast up the course against the flow of the race and without a helmet on. Not a good look!

Fantastic organisation, everything well signposted, very challenging course, one of the best medals
Great communication, received an email the night before to say everything still going ahead as planned. Must be really tough organising an outdoor event with our sometimes challenging weather, but the email was really appreciated
Loved the camaraderie of the other runners, will definitely be back next year

I was a Marshall for Cardiff Epic 10k.
Well run event and great competitors.
Would recommend both taking part and volunteering for these events

2nd Tough Runner race this year, Cardiff Epic 10km, 2nd time running it. Always a great experience, lovely trails through the forest, some tough hills and excellent organisation. Onto the Wye Valley 10km next week.

Second year of doing the Cardiff epic trail 10k and it’s one of my favourites - pretty and varied route running through forests, plenty of hills and mud to keep it interesting too. Pre event info on parking was given out in plenty of time to organise car sharing, registration was in the car park this year which was much better. Marshall’s on the course were fantastic as always and it was well signposted when there was any chance you could go the wrong way. Medals were a great design at the end, all in all an event I’d do again every year