The Bupa London 10,000, now rebranded as the Vitality London 10,000, is hands-down my favourite running event. Organised by the same team as the Virgin London Marathon and Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon, it boasts buttery smooth organisation and fantastic crowd support in the world’s greatest capital city. I pretty much see this event as a shortened version of the London Marathon, as it takes in many of the city’s most distinguished landmarks. I have run this event every year since 2012 (which was also my first ever road race), so have a special connection with it. I have been struggling with a gluteal injury since last summer, which has meant that I have been spending significantly less time running (and more time cycling). However, as things improved over the past few weeks, I could not pass up the opportunity to run today, so I signed-up in late April.
Category Archives: Race reports
London Duathlon 2015 race report
The Wiggle London Duathlon is the worlds biggest duathlon, taking place in the scenic setting of Richmond Park. There are three main distances, each consisting of a run, followed by a bike ride, and a final run. I signed up for the event way back in September 2014, opting for the standard duathlon distance of 10-44-5 (10km run, 44km bike, 5km run).
For two main reasons, I decided to drop down to the half distance of a 5km run, 22km bike ride and 5km run. Firstly, I have been struggling with a glute injury, meaning I have not been doing anywhere near as much running as I would have liked to. And second, the duathlon begins at 9am, and getting from my home in Essex to the start line would be very difficult (as I was planning to use public transport). Both factors played an equal part in my final decision.
Richmond Running Festival Half Marathon 2015 race report
The Richmond Running Festival is hands-down one of my favourite running events. Starting in the Royal Botanic Kew Gardens and taking runners of a scenic tour of Richmond towpaths, park trails and wooded landscape, the route is truly the best multi-terrain course I have run. Having only engaged in low mileage for the past few weeks, I was not looking to race this event, and instead enjoy the run and scenic views.
Great Newham London Run 2015 race report
Living within commuting distance of one of the world’s most iconic and renovated sporting venues, it was a no-brainer to sign-up for the Great Newham London Run; a 10km race promising runners a scenic run through the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with a finish in the stadium itself! I signed-up for this event in March, and it was highly anticipated. Having achieved a PB in the Bupa London 10,000 in May (37:08), I was really looking forward to another 10km run.
Kent Roadrunner Marathon 2015 race report
The Kent Roadrunner marathon has an amazing reputation for being one of the most well organised running events in the country. I first came across Kent RR in the runners world events section in early June 2014, and was greatly impressed with all the positive ratings from other runners. With a little research I came across the official Kent Roadrunner 2014 video, which showed how informal and friendly the race is. Don’t be fooled by the relaxed surroundings; the Kent RR is a gold standard UK Athletics measured race, so you can be sure that you results will count toward your powerof10 and runbritain handicap (if you are into that!). Without delay, I signed up for the 2015 race, and was pleasantly surprised that that I could even have my own choice of race number! I opted for “84” (the year I was born in). It was then a case of eager anticipation and almost a years wait before the 2015 race.
Bupa London 10,000 2015 race report
The Bupa London 10,000, or as I affectionately refer to it as the Bupa 10k, has a very special place in my running calendar. Not only was it the first 10k race I ever ran, but it was also the first race I ever ran, too! Back in 2012 as a reasonably fit lad (being quite modest here), I thought that running a 10k wouldn’t require more than an already established level of fitness. How wrong was I! It was a hot day, and having done no training, I crawled home in 57 minutes. A wake-up call that running a 10k was no easy feat! I returned in 2013, having casually done a little more training, and finished in 48 minutes. Not bad, I thought. But I was still not running regularly. Then in 2014, I began to take my running training more seriously, and once again tested myself at the Bupa 10k, running it in 43 minutes. This was a turning point for me in my running, and I vowed to return in 2015 and further better my time.
Run Hackney Half Marathon 2015 race report
I first ran the inaugural Run Hackney Half Marathon in 2014. It was not only my first half, but in my experience a very well organised event with fantastic crowd support. These reasons were enough to compel me to return in 2015. There was some criticism of last years event by other runners, the main points I can recall being raised were; water running out at the fuel stations, no finishers T-shirt and many down-and-back stretches ‘around’ (and not ‘in’) the Olympic Park, with no shade there. In short, I am pleased to say that these issues have been addressed and this years event was definitely an improvement, although I personally was reasonably pleased with last years event.
Brighton Marathon 2015 race report
The Brighton marathon is the second largest marathon in the UK, after London. Attracting around 10,000 runners and running through one of England’s most beautiful cities, it truly was an epic event. I spent the night before the race at Gatwick Airport Hilton, taking the 7:26am Southern Rail train into Brighton, arriving just after 8:00hrs. Having already collected my race pack before the event, I was all good to go!
Alighting from Preston Park station, I walked to the start in Withdean Park, which was around 10 minutes away by foot. The main mass start was in Preston Park, however, I was fortunate enough to have secured a place in the “elite” wave start. The start here was a fair bit quieter than I had envisioned, with some very serious looking runners warming up. There was also a secure elite tent and portaloo area, fenced off from everyone else, housing the ‘true’ elite athletes!
Hampton Court Palace Half Marathon 2015 race report
The half marathon is probably my favourite racing distance. It is long enough to feel like a challenge, yet short enough to do without the immense preparation demanded from the marathon distance. There is a also a significant sense of achievement after running 13.1 miles at a hard pace. Checking over my Strava record, I can see that a half marathon took me 1hr 45 minutes last year this time. Fast forward to October of last year, I achieved my currently held PB of 1:23:39; a feat I am most content with.
I raced a half marathon 2 weeks ago at the adidas Silverstone event, falling short of a PB by one minute. Given the conditions on the day, I was not disheartened by my performance. Yesterday, I took part in the inaugural Hampton Court Palace half marathon. The race started in the Hampton Court Palace grounds, and took runners through scenic views and a mixed combination of grass, towpath, gravel walkways and road. The course was generally flat, with some very mild undulations, and may have carried PB potential. I was planning to race fairly hard, but not too concerned with breaking a PB (although was not ruling the possibility out!).
adidas “the energy takeover” London 2015 #boostlondon
On the 25th of March 2015, adidas hosted their first ever #boostlondon, “the energy takeover” event. Much of the event was kept under wraps and hushes, and runners who signed up had little clues as to what the run entailed. The only concrete information I could find about this run was the following:
-It is a 10km run.
-The start is located in Elephant & Castle, Lambeth.
-There will be a labyrinth/maze concept to the run.
-Runners need to bring a fully charged smartphone (to help ‘navigate the Labyrinth’).
-And that this event will be “like no other”.
Registration was limited, and hopeful runners could sign-up for the event, with only a handful being successful. Apparently, the selection process was random. Although I am not aware of the figures, it would appear that there were between 200-250 runners there on the night. Before the event, runners were sent a race pack consisting of an adidas branded “energy takeover” T-shirt, a smartphone armband (which is suitable for an iPhone 5 sized mobile) and an information leaflet.
RUNNING, CYCLING AND TECH REVIEWS 