How to run in a massive crowd?

[Empem]

What a beautiful morning . Rarely would I go out as late as 10am as I love the empty paths in the morning but a rare -lie in was needed having waited for daughter to return safely from a school 'prom' at half midnight.

Set out for the 5.5k with a plan to find a new bit of meadow and river path. My phone was a bit glitchy today so for the first time ever I ran with no music, no prompts no Laura no nothing! It was absolutely fine though I know I was very very slow. When I plotted my run at home I found I had managed to run 6k by accident. Did some proper proper stretches afterwards that's for sure.

So I have signed up for 5k Race for Life in two weeks but I have no idea what it's going to be like apart from a sea of pink. There is no way I am walking it! Suggestions, fellow runners about how to do it with a little speed and dignity please?

[Ripcurlrana71 Graduate10]

Wow well done Empem! I can’t really give advise as only ever done 1 Park run and no races. But I’m told the atmosphere carries you through! Good for you. 😊

[Empem Graduate10 in reply to Ripcurlrana71]

Thank you that sounds nice. Yes the idea of being up close and personal with a bunch of people all trying to go fast, slow and in between feels daunting.. I just felt I should do something!

[Rammy75 Graduate10]

You’ll love it, be aware you’re likely to go faster as the adrenaline of racing with others kick, try and run your own pace.

Good luck!

[Empem Graduate10 in reply to Rammy75]

Thank you Rammy75 . Ok yes , I will beware the adrenaline . I could ( in italics) have a latent competitive streak not yet applied to running which might escape on the day, but don't want any damages!

[Irishprincess Graduate10]

You'll love it! It'll be a great atmosphere so just enjoy it. My smallest race has been less than 200 runners and the biggest 13,000! I must say the bigger race was fabulous, I felt so emotional and proud to be there amongst other runners just like a special club. Which it is 🙂 Other runners carry you along.

Just remember it's your race, your pace and yours alone. Ignore what others are doing. Don't start off too fast as you'll tire quickly and struggle later on. Take it steady for the first half and then if you have something in the tank, speed up a little. Especially over the finish line! And remember to smile for the cameras 😊

It'll be an emotional run but lots of fun so just relax and enjoy it and then be prepared to feel epic when you finish 💪💪💪

And well done on the 6K!

[Empem Graduate10 in reply to Irishprincess]

Thank you so much for the response Irish princess.I'm taking that on board and love the idea of feeling 'epic' at the end!

[Hidden]

Hi Empem, I ran the first race of my life last August. It was an 8km through the streets of my city. It's an annual event and there are about 2,000 runners. I had trained using C25K on my own so i had no experience of running with others. Luckily I had a friend who gave me some tips and told me to stay close to a pacer i.e. someone running with a balloon at 50 mins and someone else at 55mins, 45mins etc. So I stuck closely to the 55 minute balloon. I'm glad I did as otherwise I would have sped off into the sunset for the first 1km. The atmosphere was great, lots of supporters lining the route on a sunny evening. It was bumpy at the start as there were walkers too so they had to be overtaken. The speedy ones soon disappeared. It evened out after the first km and there was more space except a bit of a scrabble at the water station. I had to be careful of onlookers crossing the street and an occasional emergency vehicle. It felt fantastic to do it but all in all, I prefer solitary running. This year, I'm going to try to run between the 55 minute and 50 minute pacer. It's great to have a goal I find. Good luck to you

[Empem Graduate10 in reply to Hidden]

Thanks. This is helpful. Ok so these numbers on the Pacers are the timings you know you work to? Did I understand that right?

[Hidden in reply to Empem]

Something like that Empem. I guessed I could do 8 km in about 55 minutes although i wanted to do it in 50 mins. So I stuck close to the 2 pacers. At the end, I felt I had a little more in the tank so I overtook them and finished in about 53 minutes. I have done another 5km race without pacers and I went way too fast for the first 1km. It's very easy to get swept along if you don't pace yourself correctly. Although I have very little experience