Nearly three months ago I registered for Nike’s Run London 10K which pits the runners of the South against the North. Ever since then I’ve been having nightmares about today’s run but finally the 10K is behind me … and it wasn’t even as bad as I thought it would be!
Run London started in 2001 and has grown in numbers since then starting with 10,000 runners in the inaugural race peaking at 45,000 runners when it was run over three parks last year and although it has dropped back to 35,000 runners this year we only have one venue so its still a pretty impressive turn out. The race was run in four waves staggered at 50 minutes start but even still the start was very crowded and I’m sure it was at least 5 minutes before I cross the official start line..
Each year there will be a team captain for each team and this year I was proud that we (the North) were being represented by Paula Radcliffe. It was pretty cool to see her at the start of our race hi-fiving as many as she could reach (she in fact went on to lead the second wave of races today.)
As for my run, I have always intended to start running but I think picking a 10K race as my motivation was quite a big challenge. I wasn’t actually doing too bad with my training, considering it has been a while since I’ve actually done any sort of aerobic exercise, until I first got food poisoning, then got a cold and then injured my neck/back. At least I can be thankful that I wasn’t running with injuries such as a bum knee, which was what Sandra ran the race with, or a dead leg like Sir Jules, so I was actually pretty healthy for the run if not exactly fit.
In the end I ran (and I use the word ran very loosely!) the 10K in under an hour and a half which to me was actually a great surprise as I was more than ready to be clocking over two hours. Although I ran the first 1.5Ks without stopping after that there was plenty of walking. It was amazing to actually see and then be taken over the faster runners of the second wave. They were practically sprinting past me – something to aspire to in the future I guess! I’m definitely pleased to have been part of the race, despite the nightmares I’d had leading up to today, and I can only hope I can move forward and maybe actually be able to run a full 5k without stopping to rest in the near future.