British 10k London - measured long?

Anyone else run this today and measure it?  I was gunning it (my pace!) and came in 2 mins slower than expected having notched up 10k well before the finish - my Garmin is usually spot on.  Because it was so badly organised, with folks of all abilities starting at the same time (!) we were weaving about a lot overtaking people and taking a wide line.  Still though, 0.4km early seems a lot to me.  Thoughts?  Thanks in advance folks.

 

 

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Comments

  • MrSoftMrSoft ✭✭✭

    It think it could be right, as the year i ran it had an extra 0.3km with the amount of weaving i had to do to go past walkers and slow runners. 

     

  • Bad organisation at the British 10 - well, who'da thunk it? image

  • Screamapillar wrote (see)

    Bad organisation at the British 10 - well, who'da thunk it? image

     

     

    image

  • Mine came up a little long, but not as much as that. There was a bit where I lost satellite reception so I just put it down to that. Or it could be that the course wasn't as shown on their pre-race course map? Of course, for £50 entry fee, do we really expect a well organised race?

  • I have been put off ever doing this particular race, one of the reasons is the "no wave" starts.  They really need waves to stop the ridiculous fiasco that appears to happen at the beginning of this event.

     

    I am interested to know just WHY they do not have waves, too much hassle for them to organise I suppose.

     

    I shall stick the the BUPA 10k in May, that one is superb.

  • MillsyMillsy ✭✭✭
    Can't believe that anyone is still paying to enter this farce.

    Every year it gets crap reviews but people still throw good money at it and then complain when it turns out to be another shambles.
  • Although it's very fashionable to bash the British 10k, going back to the basics...



    A garmin will almost always measure long compared to the advertised distance. GPS is not nearly as accurate as a measuring wheel, and it is unlikely that any runner took the most direct, measured line around the course. If you want to be sure of pacing you should wear and use a pace band along with the m/km markers if you want to be sure of your target vs actual split times.
  • My Garmin is also usually pretty much spot on but came in short. C'est la vie. They probably only measured the route using a map, but considering it's not a UKA race I'm not sure you can be too fussy. Mind you, at £50, perhaps we should!

  • and if the route was different to the one on the site.......even if it was measured,...it was changed........

    its a fun run .....so why bother about time...does it appear on the power of 10 ?

  • A very expensive fun run.

  • I did it yesterday. I was doing it for charity with some work colleagues but also wanted to go under 45 for the first time. I read up some of the reviews of it on these forums and managed to get to the front of the first "wave" by getting up at 6am etc and heading down early. So yes they did operate waves, but.....

    .....however, this wasn't the first wave, as they had allowed 2000 runners who were running for the official sponsor to start ahead of the rest, and this included some proper fun runners dressed up - some walking. We set off around a minute after this group and within 200m I kid you not it was chaos. I didn't too too badly and came out of the first k, in 4'51 or so and from there it was fine but if I hadn't been aware and made sure I was near the front of the masses it would have been an absolute write off. I made 44'14 in the end which was pleasing but I could definitely have gone under 44 if it wasn't for all this.

    I'd even argue they were putting people at serious risk of injury by allowing these fun runners to go off first. They didn't even advise something like "stay left if you are a slow runner or walker" or anything which might have helped some.

    It was a good day in other ways but as someone who likes to compete against the clock I would swerve this race, no pun intended, in the future unless they introduce proper start groups. Btw their excuse for not doing so doesn't hold up - the pavement alongside Green Park was fully usable, including some unadvertised temporary toilets, and you could essentially join the large queue anywhere you wanted. A fair few runners circumvented their way to the front using it.

  • Btw my Garmin 620 came up as 10.14km. Part of that was probably footpod counted due to the tunnel sections near Blackfriars.

  • Grendel3Grendel3 ✭✭✭

    Can't offer any comments but £50 for a 10K really?

  • A race organised by non-runners for non-runners!

  • ^ this should be the tagline - except "organised" should read "disorganised" image

  • SEdanSEdan ✭✭✭

    Coincidentally registration has just opened for Bupa 10K in May 2015...

  • I also did it yesterday , my garmin came up slightly long as well , however the start was a joke , I was fairly close to the front and i promise witnessed people stopoing and starting to walk after 100 yards .... Then 500 yards further a complete bottleneck where everyone came to a complete standstill ... 

    As for after the finish line ... No Gatorade / lucozade and a goody bag with a pair of laces and a voucher for a pound off tiger balm ... Not really value for money compared to madrid half that cost 15 euro for which you got a brilliantly organised race fruit , powerbar and milkshake as you cross the finish line and an addidas running top ... 

  • dbrb2dbrb2 ✭✭

    I'd love to love this race - the route was great, and the stewards friendly...

    But the lack of starting pens segregated by predicted time made the first 2k complete chaos. There might be good reasons for not having pens....but I can't think of any, and the organisers don't seem to be giving any hints as to why they have made this choice. 

    As someone else has pointed out, putting slow runners right at the front is both dangerous and unfair, both to the slower runners (who will spend the race being barged past) and those stuck behind them.

    Also a few of the KM markers seemed to have gone walkabout...

    Less important than the race itself, but at the finish was no goody bag, a tiny bottle of water, no food at all, and the medals were 20min walk away, next to stalls trying to flog expensive running tat

    Not impressed....which is as I say a real pity, since for a route in central London it could so easily be great.

     

  • booktrunkbooktrunk ✭✭✭

    Err it included tunnels and someone moaning about their Garmin saying the distance is wrong? It sounds ridiculously expensive, but seriously someone is still moaning about the age old the race must be wrong as my garmin cannot be, PMSL

  • The organisers say no pens at start due to lack of space. I'd have thought if sensible to try and shift into Green Park, which might cost but would also allow them to stage all the pre-start bag drops etc near the actual start and reduce the number of road closures. But no doubt they've looked into that and consider it unviable for some reason.

  • Regarding the (undeniably expensive) £50 entry fee, they also charge the same for charities which is highly unusual (many runs charge charities much much more than they charge individuals). So I guess in that respect the costs are shared evenly rather than being disproportionately put onto charities. It also probably explains why it's so popular with charities despite the shambolic organisation!

  • dbrb2dbrb2 ✭✭

    Would it necessarily require more space to sort starters, at least approximately, based on speed? If the organisers know each runners predicted finish time, which is asked for on the entry form, then they will know roughly the distribution of speeds, and could at least then put indicative flags up near the start line - stand approx here for x minutes etc...not an exact science, but better than having no attempt at all...

    And little things - like having nothing to eat at the finish, & making runners trek for 20min at the end before getting their commemorative medal, rather than handing them out as they pick up their water on the line, would seem to be turning an easy win into a rod with which others will beat them...

  • they do not need to change anything.Its been shambolic since the first running and so why take a chunk from their hefty pockets in doing anything different......as long as people keep on chucking money at them for doing a crap job nothing will change.....

     

  • It's complete twaddle about the start pens. The BUPA 10,0000 manages start pens perfectly well. They put them along Birdcage Walk.

    This purpose of this so-called "race" seems to be about charging as much as possible while delivering as little as possible in return. It's verging on fraud.

     

  • Grendel3Grendel3 ✭✭✭

    Someone said Non Runners organise it - is Mike O'Reilly in charge ? - if memory serves me correctly he was a pretty decent marathon runner (in fact he was quicker over a marathon than Eammon Martin - 

    Mind reading some articles, he has a bigger chip on his shoulder than L*****d C*****ie had. 

  • Their FAQs touch on the question of 'equality between individual/charity runner entry fees' (second question down):  http://www.thebritish10klondon.co.uk/35/faqs

    • Buppa 10kLondon. Own place individual runners pay £28 to enter. Charities pay £125 per place.
    • London Marathon. Individual own place runners pay £40 to enter. Charities pay £360 (inc. VAT) per place.
    • Bike London Individuals pay £65 to enter. Charities pay £200 per place.
    • Royal Parks 1/2m. Individual pay £65 to enter. Charities pay £125 per place.        
    • Run To The Beat ½m. Individuals pay £50 per place. Charities pay £65 per place.  

    I wonder what the other events that they list would have to charge if they charged equally for individual/charity entries. (Not defending the organisers of this run, just curious.)

  • I agree with Seren, while people pay £50 to enter this race and it fills up every year ( the route is the only thing I liked about it ) I guess there is no incentive to change anything 

    they know people moan but people still enter it the following year so why change it as all it will mean is more costs to them and less profit

    oh dear does that sound really cynical 

    think i'm in a cynical mood today!!!!

  • I knew, I knew about the lack of organisation, but I still entered as I liked the route and I thought the medal looked fun. I am also training for a bike event and wanted to be sure I did some running. Yes, I could have entered something local but I do like the atmosphere so a big event...I nearly balked at the price but frankly a cycling sportive costs the same. I also thought that perhaps the organisers may have read the reviews and worked on the organisation! I had also read about the pre race 'entertainment' and thought that it would be an 'event'

    It all started so well, however there was no pre race water. I was told' there is a Pret over there' but we had paid £50 . they did have starting pens, which was good, but not time sorted, which was bad.

    the event took place near the start , unfortunately the runners stretched out for miles it seemed and they, and we were in pen 3 and we couldn't see much except some horses and the marching band. We could see the military wives but it is a shame we were not all encouraged to join in the national anthem.

    the race was fun. I'd seen the course and was not sure about the running back on yourself bit but actually it made for a great atmosphere and quite a sight . Sadly we were tripping over slow runners and walkers and I am a slow runner. It is a measure of the type of event that I came in with the average when normally I'm near the end.

    i would have cut the run up Victoria Street and extended by including St Paul's, much more attractive.

    all in all it was fine BUT the reason why I would never ever enter again is the finish. Food would have been nice for a 50 quid entry fee . I can actually do without goody bags And what would have been lovely would have been the medal as we came away instead of having to go back to the bag store and queue for a bag that I hadn't left to get my medal, especially as I was meeting my husband at Trafalgar square . He was so sure that I wouldn't get a medal that he got one for me...so we now have three...how many more are there around given to people who haven't earned them. The medals hadn't even been taken out of their boxes. In addition it was obvious that the bags hadn't been sorted properly and the bag handlers were treading all over them.

    i did send an email to the organisers as there is no review section in the events bit of RW but have had no reply.

    we were also told that if we gave our mobile numbers that we would get a text with our time within 90/120 minutes...still waiting...web site results section encouraged us to 'run' against the winners. Cfrankly not interested..just want my time!!

    did BUPA this year and last year. more fun, more prestigious and better organised!

     

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