British 10k Race Recap

I was relaxing at The Hacienda in Spain on a yoga retreat when the British 10k took place, so I asked Ruth from Rula Runs to take part for me - here's how she got on!

I know I repeat this statement A LOT, but I really do love running in London, and after running the Vitality London 10K back in June, I really wanted to run round the city again. When Beki offered me the opportunity to take part in the British 10k I jumped at the chance!

I think you can tell by this picture I am a little tired ??? #runthecapital #running #raceday #10k #London

A photo posted by Rularuns (@rularuns) on Jul 9, 2016 at 11:01pm PDT

Date: Sunday 10th July 2016

Time: 9:35am

Weather: Overcast and humid earlier on, but some light rain at times helped to cool the runners down

Course: There were many out and backs in this race, which some will hate, but I loved it! It was a great chance to watch all the faster paced runners zooming by on the other side of the road, which takes my mind off my own running.

The start along Piccadilly has a slight incline, and then at Piccadilly Circus you turn left up Regents Street. There was a steel band playing along this stretch which was awesome, as well as a DJ. We then headed past St James' Square, which leads to Trafalgar Square - definitely a lot to see! There was a left turn towards Leicester Square which was a bit of a nasty hill, and dragged on long enough to start to hurt. The only positive is that as it was an out and back, you know you are going to make the most of the downhill on the way back!

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Next we ran along the Strand - I have run and walked along this road lots of times, and always know when to look right to catch a glimpse of The Savoy. A right turn from the Strand took us down to the Embankment, where the noise and support from the crowds was amazing! We then turned left at Big Ben to run over Westminster Bridge, with views of the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament which were simply stunning.

The final stretch was along Victoria Street, around Parliament Square and then down Whitehall to the finish line!

Pretty impressive T-shirt to go with the bling too ? #british10k #runthecapital #runldn #fitblogsuk #loverunning #brooksrunning #vitalityuk #ukrunchat

A photo posted by Rularuns (@rularuns) on Jul 10, 2016 at 7:29am PDT

I must admit, I didn't look over the route in detail prior to the race and when a marshal shouted that there was only 400m to go, I thought it was one of those encouraging people who make you think you are a lot closer than you actually are. When I saw that the finish gantry was so close, I quickly upped my pace!

The sights of London, the organisation and the support made this an excellent race. It is very busy, but the introduction of pens and setting runners off in waves seemed to help, although it's still not the best course to try and achieve a PB on.

I arrived with plenty of time, so didn't have to wait in a toilet queue or at the bag drop. The organisation at the end of the race was really good too - I particularly liked the fact that as you were leaving there was a t-shirt exchange point, just in case you picked up the wrong size.

Check out this bling! I❤️LDN lovely route and great race #runthecapital #10k

A photo posted by Rularuns (@rularuns) on Jul 10, 2016 at 3:26am PDT

I finished the race in 54:44 which is 32 seconds outside my PB - maybe if I'd listened to that marshal I might have got it! However, I'm pretty happy with my time and it confirmed once again that I LOVE running in London!

Pros:

The route
The organisation
The medal and finishers t-shirt

Cons:

The cost- £50 for a 10k is a LOT. If it was less, I would definitely make this an annual event in my race calendar.
It's a busy race, so not really one to target for a PB.

rula runs1