Tri Challenge

Early start yesterday, but arrived at Hyde Park in plenty of time – unlike my old running partner, LB. He scoffed at my intention to get there at 9am for a 10.30 start, left home in Ware a good hour later than me, discovered his train was cancelled, got on a bus which got lost, got on a different train to a Victoria line tube stop, discovered the Victoria line was closed and had to get a cab to Hyde Park Corner. He was very late.

By contrast, I met RedRocket for a leisurely amble into the Park to the start line in plenty of time to find a clean portaloo with no queue in front of it, dropped the bags off then lay down in the sunshine while all the other runners bopped around us obediently as instructed by the man doing the warm-up on a big screen. It didn’t feel much like a race.

We were herded into the start area – colour coded into four waves which are then each broken down into three sections and set off virtually bang on time. The Great Run people really do know how to organise an event – they should talk to the Reading Half people who have never, to my knowledge, started a race on time.

Anyway off we went for a very pleasant, flat run around Hyde Park. There were around 12,000 people so you had to pretty much stick to the pace – which was a comfortable 6-minute kilometre. It was lovely and flat all the way, and the route looped back on itself so that we saw the front runners hooning it down the 7-8k stretch as we jogged up towards the 4k mark. Well done them – I’d struggle to do that pace for 100m.

There were a lot of people lining the route, but few people giving the runners any encouragement. At one point, a girl yelled “come on, give us a cheer” and there was a half-hearted clap from a few people before they lapsed into complete silence again. It would be nice to see Londoners with the same level of enthusiasm as the Geordies at the GNR, but they just looked bemused.

As we jogged towards the 8k mark, I spotted LB on the other side approaching the 4k post. He looked quite comfortable – despite starting late and having to run through crowds of runners and walkers at the back.

Finished in 57:35 – not bad considering my training could have been better. It would be good to beat that time at the Nike Human Race on 31 August. And I really need to get into shape for Commando Challenge in October. Obviously all of that took a back seat during yesterday’s post-run celebrations at various venues between Kensington and Notting Hill – the best pub by far being the quirky Churchill Arms near Notting Hill Gate. Worth going for the people watching and vast array of pot plants in the loos. Go easy on the chili prawns though…