British 10K London Run

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Comments

  • For anyone who hasn't recieved a race pack (my wife is still waiting for hers) I have had a reply back from an email address promising another one to be sent in the post (guess what, no sign of one to date!)

    We're planning to besige the help tent on the morning to get a number

    (it says on the website to bring your NetBanx reference number for proof of payment)

    PS: when my race pack arrived I had to go to the sorting office to pay for extra postage!!
  • musketeermusketeer ✭✭✭
    Chris, I would go to the help desk to get a refund on the extra postage :)
  • fantastic plan Musketeer - should have enough then for an icecream afterwards - its going to be hot hot hot!
  • Going back to coughie's reply to Chris Morgan 4. I agree with you CM4 there's nothing to stop you running along the road, any road, no matter what's going on unless it has been closed by the police or something.

    You won't be in the way as coughie suggests, there's up to 18000 other runners in this race, a few more will make no difference.

    The high fencing is only at the start you can join the road just a few metres back.
    Obviously, as you say, bring your own
    water and don't take a medal etc.

    As mentioned by others, nobody particularly wants to avoid paying but if you've tried and can't get the race pack or whatever join in at the back.

  • Hello everyone! I ran the London 10k yesterday, but before that, I read the forum posts on this site and got a little worried that I would be tripping over people, wouldn't get any water all the way round and have to wait in a massive queue for the bags etc etc.

    None of this happened though! There's been so much negativity about this race on the forum, but I really enjoyed my experience of the london 10k.

    There was no queue at all for the bags in my area, I never had a problem with drinks at the water stations and never bumped into anyone overtaking or someone overtaking me. Sure, you're never likely to get your best time from the race, but all in all I thought it was really good. Sure it is a little on the expensive side, but for the experience, I'd pay it again.

    Please note, however, this is my first 10k run, so I have nothing to compare it to. Did it without stopping or walking though in the scorching hot weather, was a fantastic feeling ;)
  • Hardeep good for you it sounds like you had a great time.

    I did the race too but suspect that I was some way behind you, the heat was too much for me as a leisure runner so I did walk some of the route, and didn't get over the start line until 10.10 when the race officially started at 9.35. This meant of course that a huge number of people had gone through before me so when I got to the last water stations they had run out.

    What annoyed me was the lack of toilets at the beginning. There were a huge number of people relieving themselves in the park. There was no indication where the nearest toilets to the start were so it was either that or walk back to the tube station.

    I had not run 10k before either. For now I have decided not to do another unless it is in winter.
  • Glad to see that some people enjoyed themselves anyway.

    I'd encourage anyone to track down some of the smaller 10ks and see how you like those - sure you may not have the sights of the capital to look at, but equally - you won't have to wait 35 minutes to cross the line.
  • This was my 3rd year of running. The lesson learned is to get there early and get as near the front as possible. Last year I was also near the back Louise and had the same problems as you. Don't be put off by this as Cougie says there are some great 10Ks around the country run by clubs who make you feel really welcome and I find running round the countryside preferable to London any day. Also the weather was unusually hot yesterday so don't be put off by this either. Most clubs tend to go for spring/autumn anyway when the weather is more suitable but who can tell with the English summer. Well done to everyone but what about the rubbish medal, the worst so far! At least I got a medal as my wife did the ladies 5K and they did not have the medals as they had got lost in customs and they are supposed to be posted later. Just about sums up the lack of organsation. How long do they need?
  • Did the 10K several years ago and was def. a 'never again'. Was really angered reading the experiences of those who did the Women's 5K. £20 fee, no goody bag, badly fitting tee shirt, no medal, even more chaotic organistion. Should start a 'don't do it' campaign next year to save a lot of first time runners geting too disillusioned.
  • Aaah, I can see where you're coming from Louise, I guess I was one of the fortunate ones. I had to wait 20 mins to get to the start line so I was fairly near to the front. But I guess I did see the water running out as I was going around, I just thought they'd get some more drinks in for the stations...the fact that they didn't does indeed show bad organisation.

    I'm all for running in cooler weather now as well, it was a scorcher of a day!
  • I didn't run this year, but I was supporting. At one of the water stations near the end, there was plenty of water, but spectators were having to hand out the bottles or runners were grabbing their own as there were not enough 'official' people to deal with all the runners.
  • Where is my medal!! On the www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk web site on the tuesday after the race they put a message up saying if you didn't get a 10k medal email them your race details and they would post you one. Well I haven't got one yet and no answer, plus they removed the message a fews days later. The email address was 10kmedal@lethalmedia.com.
  • Thank you Hardeep and Bob for you encouraging words. As you have worked out I am pretty new to running and did the 10k to raise funds for the museum that I work in, to be honest this was reasonably difficult to do when many of the other people were running for worthier causes!

    It seems that every run I do is in the middle of a heat wave - did Southampton's race for life in 30 degree heat at the weekend.

    I have decided that I will probably do the 10k they do in Moors Valley Country Park in December, it should be a little bit cooler then!
  • No problem Louise, hopefully you'll find the cooler weather and more organised events spur you onwards.
  • This was my and my husbands first 10K run so like some of the other members we have nothing to compare this event to either. However, I was suprised to find that there wasn't a designated 'warm up area' where perhaps there could have been someone talking you through a warm up routine and stretches.
    I would also agree with other members that the entry fee is abit steep and it was disappointing at the end to get back to the baggage area and find that they had run out of drinks, especially as it was a very hot day, but on the whole we enjoyed the experience and will most likely do it again next year - hopefully alittle wiser and faster.
  • Mr BumpMr Bump ✭✭✭
    I've been reading the posts with interest, This is a purely personal view based on races I have ran in both small and large over the past few years.

    I ran in a small race 2 weeks ago. It was the 7.2 miles road race at the 120th Much Wenlock Olympiad Games. These Games have a history going back to the 1850s. Just 65 competitors took part in the race, staged on a picturesque and hilly road course. The event is very welcoming to beginners and experienced runners alike. The marshals and organisers were friendly. The event was very well organised - better than some of these big events. There was a water station, and at the finish you got a medal and a bottle of water. There were also cheap snacks/lunches at the event to buy.

    This is typical of small events. Contrary to popular belief they are NOT solely the domain of elite club runners. Most events attract a wide cross section of abilities and are very welcoming. This event cost just £2 to enter. I did it in 2004 and I will definitely do it next year as well.

    For your information, the most I have ever paid to enter a 10K is £7.

    OK, some events I guess you've just got to do at least once (e.g. Flora London Marathon; BUPA Great North Run) but taking the GNR as an example, why should I be stuck in an overcrowded race where I have no chance of running to my ability, and pay through the nose for the privilege. I have never done the British 10K, but I get the impression it is a similar story.

    Whilst I would do Flora London Marathon again (the organisation is very good and I was able to run to my pace because of the seeded starting pens) as for any of the other big "charidee" events, I say forget them and support smaller events which in my honest opinion are far more welcoming and friendly. A lot of these events also have a charity angle to them anyway - for example, I ran a half-marathon in February (£13 entry fee), but a portion of that went to some local hospital.
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