Monday 15 July 2013

London's British 10K Run

On Sunday, 14th July, Robert and I ran the British 10K run on behalf of a small charity called PetSavers. PetSavers does some great work dedicated to improving the health of pets and small animals. We've chosen this charity because we love pets and animals need all the support they can get.
So far, we've raised about £145, there is still time to donate. Check out our Just Giving fund raising page: http://www.justgiving.com/doris-runs-for-pets.

Since my half marathon in June I've tried to keep up with my training running and ran about 2-3 times a week, ranging from 5k to 10k runs. I knew I could run a 10k, now I was more concerned about my time. I found myself on a plateau lately, unable to improve my running time.

The weather forecast predicted one of the hottest days in the year with about 30 degrees Celsius, which meant hydration was key. I prepared myself by drinking a lot of water the day before and drinking electrolyte water before the run on the day. I decided to leave my water bottle in my bag as it was promised that enough water was available throughout the course.

When we arrived at Embankment it was already quite hot, about 24 degrees Celsius. We dropped off our bag and met some of our PetSavers team mates. We all made our way to the start line to watch the opening ceremony. The start line was quite a walk away and no toilets were available on the way, which meant many men and women decided to visit the bushes of St. James and Green Park instead.


The race started with about 15mins delay. We were all queued up in front of the start line in the glaring heat, waiting for the countdown to begin. At that point I regretted not having any water on me.
Once we got going I felt fine and didn't mind the heat too much. At about 2.5km we came across the first water station and I gulped down a bottle of water in one go.
The route took us across Trafalgar Square, along Embankment up to Canon Street, back to Westminster where we crossed Westminster bridge; a short sprint up to Victoria and before we ran back to Whitehall were we crossed the finish line.


For the first 6K I felt quite good running along in a steady 7mins/km pace. On the way back towards Embankment I felt the heat getting to me. My legs felt lethargic. On the next water station I poured a water bottle over my head and face to cool myself down, but to no avail. To my disappointment I had to halt to a walk. The last 4K were a combination of run/walks and crossed the finish line at a time of 01:17 (unofficial). Robert finished at an incredible 0:56 mins.


My verdict 4/5

The British 10K has a reputation for being unorganised and that was unfortunately true to some extend. There weren't enough toilets available before and during the run and routes weren't cut off from pedestrians. It was a shame I didn't get to see any of the opening ceremony. I didn't enjoy standing in the glaring heat for 15mins before the race start. However, the bag drop area was well organised and the medals were very pretty (that's where all the money went into).

The route was great and went along many popular sights in central London. The crowd was amazing and carried you all the way along to the finish line.

You can find some more pictures of the race day in my image gallery.

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