British 10k London Run - 8th July 2012

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Comments

  • Agree with Cougie.

    I ran this event in 2004 and these issues were prevalent then.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, has been done to improve the organisation of either the baggage, start, or finish areas.

    All the points raised in these posts reflect the same issues that have been experienced since this race started ten or more years ago.

    I've completed the BUPA 10k 3 times, and have already submitted my entry for 2013 - 'nuff said....

  • I forgot about the carnage in the baggage area...uncovered and unsupervised bags is just nonensical.  I think the overriding theme does appear to be nonsensical.

  • Theres really no need for them to improve though - every year the same issues and every year 1000's enter.  Even people who admit it is poor return. Its amazing !

  • WexterWexter ✭✭✭

    I did this race in 2010 . I thought it would have improved since then and took a charity place. I would not run this event again now as it is not fun running over 10 kilometres trying to run in and out of a crowd, having the back of my trainer stood on in the process ( probably my fault ) but would not have happenned with staggered starts.

  • It may be time to start a "Run local, Race local"  campaign.

    Get runners away from the idea that going to expensive mass paticipation races far from home with tens of thousands is a good idea for running.

    10k is 10k whether its around Big Ben or past the local industrial estate taking in Lidl's on the local high street. Whenever I look for races I start small and local, then if unsuccessful do look outside my area. If I have to get on a train and/or look for accomadation it better be a run with glowing reviews and a long damn history of success.

    This 10k sounds as dire as it comes.

     

  • I did this one yesterday - it was my first race, ever. I work for a charity so got a place through them.



    Minuses - all that people have said. My bag was soaked with my change of clothes in it, I didn't get a medal and the start was awful! We stood about in the cold and rain for ages, then took half an hour to get over the start, with walkers, slow runners like me and speedy people all mixed up.



    Pluses - I still enjoyed it enough to sign up for the Bupa run next year, I came Not Last (hooray!) and I raised lots of money. And they are posting a medal to me.



    I'm not doing this one again though, and will be feeding back to work about it too. Not great for our supporters to go through this really.
  • Got to say I think the organisers are marketing genius, year after year the reviews for this race are negative but yet supposedly 25000 people signed up at £37.50-50 that around or over £1m in entry fees for a race that is repeatedly slammed over the same issue. Absolute genius.

  • And sorry but to those slamming Nike, they got in as sponsor very late in the day, prior was Asics both succesful companies sponsoring countless other events, the fault here lies with the actual organiser Michael O'Reilly Event Founder & Director for simply ignoring repeated feedback since this race's inception.

  • .... but it is hypnotically bad. People keep coming because they can't believe it. This year the storm clouds and the dressing everyone in black shirts just added a whole satanic twist to the event. 

    The MAJOR innovation this year were marked bays for bags instead of just piling your bag up against a lampost. They will probably start charging for extas like that next year.

  • Alec thanks for the chip times! That site is far better than the official one.

  • Richard Cox 7 wrote (see)

    Alec thanks for the chip times! That site is far better than the official one.

    Not a problem.

    Really feel for everyone who didn't turn up as early as me (helps living in zone 1).  Starting at the front made just a complete difference between what turned out to be a great run (and a PB by 20s of 37.10), or a bit of a stinker.

    Having broken out of the pack by 1.5km it was pretty lonely for most of the course in terms of running traffic. However, having turned to head back down the embankment the state of the queue heading East was scary!

    All my positives, and these were pretty special, was anything NOT at the mercy of organisers.  This was: crowd, course, and marshals volunteering from running clubs.  Always unsung heroes.

    Direct link to those chip times and km splits here

  • OK before I start I have to agree with everything that's been said about how awful this event was.  But on the other hand... are you sitting down... I thoroughly enjoyed it!  How? I'd read previous year's reviews so knew that the start would be a shambles and a PB nearly impossible, but still wanted to run a big race in central London.  So I did something I have never done before, and dressed myself up as a giant tap (pictures here: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RichardCox10 ) and raised some cash for WaterAid.  Often I find the pure fun of running gets lost somewhere in the middle of a training schedule, and this was the perfect reminder of how much fun running can and should be.  Plus, in a sea of identical Nike shirts, costumed runners get a LOT of attention.  I ran most of it with a fixed grin and I've never enjoyed a run so much!

  • Does anyone know where you get your, ..quote from race day info booklet...  "free official race photo download (worth 17.99)" ?

  • What a morning!! Some nice touches at the start was right next to the bus with Heather Small singing and it was a great atmosphere with the band and national anthem. Loved the run, the sea of black nike t-shirts with the odd superman or gorilla!! It was a great route even the rain was refreshing however the ending was a disaster!!! Thank goodness I didn't have a bag just needed to get through to get my medal and didn't really expect to be faced with all those steps at Waterloo after finishing the run my poor legs!! managed to get a medal, goody bag (for what it was worth), and commerative t-shirt, no certificate which had been mentioned and not sure what happens about the photo.

  • no it isn't worth the money and really disappointed to see peole wasting their money on this shambles year after year, but there you go, I paid to do it once

  • miss slowmiss slow ✭✭✭

    My sister & I ran this for the first time this year, despite our misgivings seeing RW feedback, as she missed out on the Bupa 10k.  Never again.  The baggage was unsecure and uncovered, way too many people for unstaggered start and a complete bunfight at the end.  The only redeeming features were the great crowd support and the fact we both wore umbrella hats (genius move when it started hammering down!).  image  Bupa London 10k 2013 here we come...

  • Clare Lovatt wrote (see)

    Does anyone know where you get your, ..quote from race day info booklet...  "free official race photo download (worth 17.99)" ?

    http://www.marathon-photos.com/scripts/home.py

    They were the photographers on the day, may be worth trying there.

  • ooh Miss Slow, where did u get your umbrella hats, i had considered getting one myself

    and yes the reviews are not suprising on here, i was lucky i didnt have to run it in the rain, it was boiling hot last year when i did it.  Glad i didnt sign up this year!!! 

  • There is alot of hating on this race! As a first time 10k runner I will add my voice to the discussion.

    Firstly I enjoyed the race. Perhaps it's ignorance of how good other races are but I thought the route was easy and enjoyable. The crowds cheering were a great boost and I agree around Embankment/Temple (where my own family were) they were excellent.

    Race shirt: I liked the black running shirt. Far better than having some nasty piece of paper pinned to my shirt. It was lightweight and comfortable to run in. I'll be using it again for training/gym. People running for charity just pinned the card on their Shirt. No militant race officials forcing clothing rules on me as some people on here and other forums seem to have insinuated. Also, the hatred of Corporate Nike, I feel, is unjustified. I didn't feel they were particularly oppressive or in your face. I was running in NB shoes, ASICS socks and Addidas shorts... nobody had a problem.

    Bagage area: I got to the bagage area at 7:45 and left around 8:15 so perhaps I avoided the carnage that others are talking about. Certainly I wasn't impressed by arrangements but my clothes were still dry when I finished and had no issues with my bag.

    Pre-start: the sound systems were poorly wired. It didn't appear that there were adequate delays between the speaker arrays at the start because the sound was barely audable due to the sound delay. Should have installed phasing between them. Reggie was his usual CBBC annoying self but then I dislike that style of presenting. Couldn't hear a word of the Lord Mayor's speech because she didn't hold the mic close enough to her mouth.

    Start: As I got there early I had no problem with the start. I was about 50yards from the front of the pack which helped. There was alot of waiting around which was annoying but I think it was worth getting their early to avoid the crush. Being so close to the start I got away from the walkers fairly quickly. When looking at my split times my 2nd km was around 30s faster than the 1st because I was able to open up. My family watching did tell me that after I passed the runners were very crammed together to the point that some were crossing the middle dividers along the embankment. 

    Course: I liked the route. Where I was training was very hilly so this route by comparison was fairly easy going. Nice landmarks and good crowd support.

    Drinks: I found the water stations to be fine. At the end there were plenty of water bottles and Gatorade but I finished relatively early.

    Toilets: Toliets were pretty easy to get to at the bagging area and no queues (probably because I was early). The toilets at half way also had no queue when I passed.

    Post race/medals/shirts: Guidance after I finished the race was poor. No direction on where to go. Other runners were also clearly confused as I had people asking me where to go to collect the medals etc. A few people with megaphones/stewards greeting the finishers and explaining where to get everything would have been all that was needed. I liked the medal but then i don't have any comparisons (except for medals from other sports) so perhaps again, ignorance is bliss. When I got to the bag area there was no organisation at all. I'd have liked to have seen some sort of queue lane for the commemorative shirts instead of the scrum around a giant table that was there. I got my shirt OK and have to say I really like it. As with the race shirt I'll definately wear it again for running and the gym.

    Goodie bag: Rubbish. Some sugar and tea?! I missed the part where I was supposed to bring my thermos! This was a dissapointment. I was expecting some energy bars/magazine/sweatbands... something small, free and sport related not tea and sugar! There were some vouchers b

  • ut I won't be using them.

    Chip times: Mine worked perfectly. Got my time texted to me at the end of the race and got my split times online with relative ease.

    finishers photo: haven't receive this yet. Does anyone know where I get this from or if it will be sent/emailed to me? I have received an email from maraton-photos.com but I have to pay for those photos.

    Overall I my experience was good. However, I think I avoided alot of problems by turning up early. Next year I'll try the BUPA 10k as everyone seems to rate that far higher.

  • I totally agree with the above post.

     

    This was my first 10k event and I had read the bad reviews about crowding/no starting pens etc. So, I turned up for 8am when the baggage bay opened, handed in my bag, headed for the start and ended up starting 3 mins after the gun. If the competitive runners on here are so worried about overcrowding, why didn't they turn up at 8am too? It was really quiet when I arrived. If you arrive at 9am or so, I don't think you can moan about getting held up. I mean, the race programme did warn that there were no starting pens so I don't get why some people were surprised.

     

    My overall opinion of this race is it's more applicable to those aiming for a fun race and not desperate for a PB. Great crowd support, great route, great atmosphere. I think I will try the Bupa 10k next year just to see the difference, but I wouldn't put people off doing this one. I really enjoyed the whole day.

  • I did enjoy the race, I thought the route was great.  I just wish we were split into runners and walkers. Would have made it better for me personally.

     

    But Iove the t shirts and medal that we got. 

  • miss slowmiss slow ✭✭✭

    HannahsmomUK - we got our umbrella hats from eBay, thoroughly recommend for hammering rain & a bit of fun.

    Photos - If you find a pic u like on marathon photos, the free download bit is third bit down (it just says 'download' instead of a cost).  Sadly I look terrible in all mine so they can keep them!

  • Has anyone who did the gold entry heard anything about the photo that was part of the package? The photo email that I got linked to some pictures, but there was no mention of the included one.

  • If you click on one of your photos, that will take you through to a screen with a number of options, one of which is the "free download." However, I found that if you go back to your photos, click on a different shot, the "free dowload" option is still there.      

  • Does anyone know what distance it was?.  My Garmin said 6.42 miles.

  • How much did you pay for your Garmin ? 

    And you don't trust it's output ? 

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Duncan I'd say the race would measure 10k.
  • Millsy1977 wrote (see)
    Duncan I'd say the race would measure 10k.

    This is the British 10k Millsy !

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Maybe that's why it's more expensive as you have to run further.
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