Howdy, Stranger!
Categories
Options
London Hydro Active Women's Challenge 5K
The materials in this website are in no way intended to replace the professional medical care, advice, diagnosis or treatment of a doctor, qualified personal trainer, therapist, dietitian or nutritionist Runners's World, Part of the Hearst UK well-being network © Copyright 2017
Comments
The sign for the sub 25 min group was at the very front of the sub 35 min group.
So you had to walk all through the sub 35 min group. I got to the start at about 10.20 and walked though about 5-10 lines of people. So if they do the same kind of start next year the earlier you get to the start the better. There is loads of room for you to warm up in the sub 25 min area. However it did look fuller than last year and people where climbing over the barriers to make sure they got in it.
I enjoyed the atmosphere generally, but just found the race frustrating. I got caught in the loo queue at the race start, and joined the back of the sub 35 when the first wave had already gone. Since I've been doing 39 minutes over 3 miles in training, that should have been a bit fast for me if anything. As if... besides having to walk for most of the first 2 ks because it was too crowded for anyone to run above walking pace, I spent the rest of the race weaving. I think doing run/walk made it worse. I'd move over to the right to walk, but then every time I ran I'd be going hoarse shouting 'excuse me' to walkers AND slower runners. Some of whom I'd have to re-overtake after my next walk break... Afterwards I was thinking I should have positioned myself according to my running speed, not my overall walk/run speed... Anyway, I finished in 40:54, which considering it's slightly over 3 miles is at least consistent with my training speeds. And I probably ran a lot further. And that 'none consensual fartleking' I was doing (you know what I mean...) is probably good training! LOL
I also got a signed card off Paula (which I'm trying to persuade myself I should sell for my charity...), and went back and got my medal signed too. Though I was trying to be polite and patient which meant I ended up getting shoved out and got shirty just as Paula came up... grrrr..
Awww I loved the warm up session I had a dream about it last night, and I was having a fab time lol.
I heard from my little sister that a woman was either injured or had a nosebleed....does anyone know what happened to her? She was bleedy quite heavily.
1) Make the start as narrow as those early narrow parts of the course, so the flow is spread out at the start, not bottlenecked when it reaches the narrows.
2) Add a wave or two. Advertise the first wave as being for competitive, experienced people who've already done races in (for example) sub 30 only. Ban under (12s?) from this wave. Maybe make this wave (or two) a separate sign-up?
3)Be realistic with the advertised times (what the heck were they doing with a sub-25 wave if they knew only 150 people did that time last year? That's just asking for people to break that rule), and with the way people are going to interpret that. A lot of people who've never run are going to think 'well, I'm quite fit, so I'm going to run all the way, so I'll go in the first wave', without having any idea what their time is likely to be. Word the advertising right and people will be willing to shift back without thinking they are being labelled as 'slow' or none runners. EG:
Wave A: Experienced competive runners with previous times under 30 minutes. Please do not join this wave if this is your first race/timetrial. No under 12's
Wave B: Fast beginners and slower experienced competitors, times under 40 minutes. Please do not join this wave if you are not running several times a week.
Wave C: This is your wave if have done some training or are reasonbly fit from other sports, but not sure how you'll do. Times under 50 minutes.
Wave
3) Start the waves further apart
4) Avoid making rules about walkers: it's rubbish to suggest that the problems are just walkers. Not all walkers go at 3.5 miles an hour and not all runners go at 10 miles and hour. Rather than 'walkers on the right' the rule should be 'slow lane on the left: please keep as far left as you can, and only move right to overtake' (works pretty well on roads... and the competitive end of races, so why not at the back end of the race?)
5) Give up on asking people to walk in single file. If people have come to do it with their mates, they want to do it WITH them, not looking at their backsides. That's another rule just asking to be broken. I'd ask people competing (note, not walking... slow running groups were a problem for me too...) to move a maximum of two abreast, and consider moving to the last wave if they want to move as a big group.
I'm a frustrated organiser... LOL
I don't know if just having one group for sub 30 is a good idea.
I know that a lot of people run inbetween 30-25 min.
Perhaps they should have proper starting pens instead of making the quicker people walk/push/force their way through to the front.
I think there may be enough room to put pens at the side of the course and have say an entrance onto it for sub 20 min runners, one for sub 25 min, one for sub 30 min, one for sub 35 min, one for sub 40 min then one for people slower than that.
I know this is a lot more starting areas than before, however with having access from the side of the course possible it should work. After all how many people climbed over the barriers next you? There must have been 15 people at least who I saw do that.
I agree propper pens makes sense, but they also need to be advertised in a way that makes sense to people with no idea what their standard is.
I didn't see anyone climb over, but then I joined late: through an actual gap in the fence behind wave two as it was being moved down to the start.
There were still folk heading for the finish after 12.30 when I walked back across towards Park Lane. I must have crossed the line just before 12 noon, my stopwatch time was 39:56 - it was almost 20 mins into the event before the 35+ group was set off - elite folk away having a shower by then!!!
Whatever the organisers do at the start everyone will always have discussions.
The first year I did it was a free for all. The second year (last year) I started at the front of the sub 35 min group and they started at the same time as the elites. I did have to get to the start about 45 min before it started.
If you want to start where you want you really need to be in position by about 40-45 min before the start.
i know where im going to be starting next year.
apart from grumblys a good day again and lots of free drinkies.
my backpack weighed 2 stone thanks to them!
yippeeeee medal double yipeeeee medal signed by paula radcliffe super cool.
hope everyone else had fun
see you next year
or maybe @ the running 4 women 8km in brighton on the 17th..... anyone going?
So... we have inexperienced people with no idea of their time, but thinking they'll run all the way putting themselves in the first and second waves, because they assume that each wave represents a third of the field (and of course, many of them don't do as well as they thought...). Meanwhile because the times given in no way relate to the assumptions of the inexperienced, those who do know their time, and follow the rules, end up behind much slower competitors.
I think if there are going to be three timed waves, then their times should relate to the average times of a third of the field each. And they should be advertised in a way that gives more guidance to people who don't know their times. (Like I tried to do in my examples above)
If they are going to have a sub-25 wave then it should be advertised as only for experienced racers who have previously recorded times of that speed.
I also still think that restricting the width of the start could make a major difference... and having a 'slow lane' system rather than picking out walkers for silly and unrealistic restrictions.
It's good though that Hydro-Active is beginner friendly and don't want to lose that.
Agree safety is an issue. On the whole I found the sport's relief mile in London a lot better in terms of crowding (but then I was starting at the front of a wave, even if half of it sprinted past me...), but there were people there starting at the front of waves with toddlers and it looked pretty dangerous!
HY4 the website for the photos is www.marathonfoto.com
Thanks!
I knew it was marathon something but could remember the rest.
For some of the races I've been able to doctor the photos with something like paint or photoshop.
Well done on all the PBs! I ran with my Mum and she got a PB of 43:26 which she was really chuffed with. I agree it was pretty congested in parts but this is the first year that we've never been forced to a walk (it's usually awful at that hair-pin bend by the bandstand) so I'd agree that it's definitely improving.
Off to look at the photos now!