After suffering cancellations and the meagre consolation of a virtual race in October 2020, the Vitality London 10000 was back yesterday. A bunch of us travelled down (or up in the case of those on the south coast) to Waterloo on Sunday, all meeting up for the first time since last October and had a convivial evening before making our way across the river yesterday morning to Green Park and the bag drop. By great luck, cheekychipmunks , Shake-and-run and I reached the start line just as the elite runners were about to start and saw the great Sir Mo Farah and the amazing Eilish McColgan start their races. We subsequently made our way to the start line on the Mall and, at a slightly slower pace π, set off, along with nearly 14000 other runners, to run through Trafalgar Square, down the Strand and past so many iconic London landmarks. There were bands playing, choirs singing, spectators cheering us on around the route and the atmosphere was amazing. The finish was in front of Buckingham Palace, before collecting t-shirt and medal and meeting back up with Cheeky, Shakes, Dexy5 UpTheStanley TailChaser Katnap and kitten and -David-G . Iβm not sure what happened with Garmin (possibly hindered by high buildings π€·ββοΈ) but I managed to clock up 11.14k on a measured 10k route and got 7 PBs including a 58.17 10k, which sadly isnβt accurate as my official time was 1.06.04, 142/360 in my age group. The icing on the cake for me was meeting up with my son and his girlfriend for dinner. What a fabulous weekend ππ
Hello London, only 2 years late πββοΈ - Bridge to 10K
Hello London, only 2 years late πββοΈ
Sounds perfect Sandie. You will get that sub 60 10k one day, that is, if you want it. Top half of your age group is excellent. π
It was a brilliant weekend Sandie π I love that photo of you and Shakes!
Well done Sandie1961 - another fab run report! The meet up sounds great and what a fantastic event this is. There was definitely a stellar elite race too - I think Mo Farah ran it when I did it a few years back as well. Donβt you just love saying you ran against Mo Farahβ¦!ππLovely that you were also able to celebrate with your son and his partner afterwards too! πππ
The trouble is, Mo had finished before we started running Sandra. π€£π€£
All the sights and sounds somehow distract you and suck you along! Well done Sandie!
π± Katnap π±
Sounds great Sandie - and Mr Garmin was trying to give you an even better day!π
Fabulous. Sounds like it was an amazing experience. Youβre easily in the top half of your age group, which is excellent. Well done.
Funky Garmin and Strava, but who cares? You ran an excellent race in a great time Sandie! π₯π₯
What a fabulous weekend, and Iβm happy you got to see your son too. β€οΈ
GPS trackers really struggle with what are termed "urban canyons" between high-sided city buildings.
Well done!
Absolutely Fabulous Sandie! And you got to be on the TV! You moved so fast in the first 200 metres that I thought youβd be just a blur.
Something definitely happened to GPS in the City area as Garmin told me I was going 5.20 min/km at one point. Nah.
So lovely to have some quality time with your family afterwards too- I hope you wore your medal!
I thought youβd never get out of that chair..ππ
Glad you had a great weekend with the meetups and the run.
Oh lovely! Elite runners, a trip to London, friends and familyβ¦.. all in the name of running, congratulations for being in top half too πππΎπ
Summed it up beautifully π€© Next stop Great South Run, unless we can find something sooner!
Well done, sounds like a fantastic experience, both the excitement leading upto it and the race itself. Can't wait to do my first race. I'd like to do the Lincoln 10km, trying to find out when it is.ππββοΈ
Iβve done several 10k races, but this was just in another league altogether. Iβm waiting for Lincoln too, as itβs my home run, but I havenβt been able to find a date for this year yet!
Iβm so glad you enjoyed the run Sandie! And a little extra too! It really sounds as though you all enjoyed your meet up - Dexy5 was still buzzing when I saw her yesterday!