I took part in the London Greenwich Park MoRun 10K during November 2014 and 2016 and thoroughly enjoyed both events, labelling it in 2014 as the ‘best way to end a great year of running’. When I saw that this year’s event was still just £22, signing up for round three didn’t take much persuasion!
Getting up at 5:45am on Sunday 26th was a real struggle. I had to drive to Tonbridge train station to catch the 7:18 to Cannon Street, but am not familiar with Tonbridge station car park and had no idea where to park and forgot to bring change for the meter, so had to call up and register to pay by phone, which almost made me miss the train – not a good start! The Cannon Street train actually got stuck at a signal and pulled into London later than scheduled. And then, parts of the DLR were closed (which hadn’t cropped up as a warning when I was planning the journey online), so instead of a DLR from Bank straight to Greenwich, which would have been very straightforward, I had to get off part-way into the journey, catch a bus replacement then re-join the DLR. A 25min journey turned into over 50mins. Combined with my train pulling in late, this meant that I had half an hour to walk the 20mins from the station into Greenwich Park before the event started. On the walk I realised that I had left my bottle of water on the train, and in my flustered hurry I dropped my relatively new iPhone and smashed the screen to bits. I had to withdraw cash, buy water, have a wee, pick up my registration pack and sort myself out all within record time, and was very close to frustrated tears. It was honestly the worst morning where everything went wrong and I started to wonder why on earth I run, and if this is even worth it? I was angry with myself and feeling utterly miserable.
The £22 cost included chip timing, awesome curved moustache medal, branded headband, Volvic water and Yazoo milkshakes. I had opted to purchase a technical t-shirt at registration which was the perfect fit, and coupled this with a black technical vest underneath, Brooks sports bra and Ivy Park leggings with 1,000 Mile socks and Brooks Ghost 7 trainers, resulting in a super comfortable outfit. My London Marathon ‘rejection’ jacket came in handy as I wore it to and from the event.
I had eaten a few handfuls of pesto pasta and half a chocolate cereal bar for breakfast, with a skinny chai latte, and despite the hurried, frustrating journey, felt ready to run. The weather was autumnal – dry, clear, not cold enough to wear gloves – and leaves were falling off trees as we ran. Ideal running conditions, and the park was picturesque with no bottle-neck points or narrow areas.
The event was well organised with clear signage, marshals and an energetic warm-up. The starting line was a free-for-all, but with an event of this size there would have been no need for colour-coded timing pens. The 10K route was two scenic laps around the park involving two killer hills (so four in total… argh! So steep! HORRENDOUS) but the atmosphere was fantastic. There were a number of runners in fancy-dress, and the vast array of moustached-faces was brilliant.
Although I enjoyed the run and felt good throughout, I ran slower than usual and got a terrible time, which again made me wonder why on earth I do this to myself 😦 I found a quicker way to get home, and once I’d showered and pampered myself a bit I felt slightly better. But, I had terrible experiences at the London 10,000 this year when I forgot my headphones (literally can’t run without music) and then at the Race for Life when my headphones broke, and then had to withdraw from two running events in July due to personal issues, so this year has been really disappointing in terms of running events, and I feel quite sad about it actually. Hopefully 2018 will be more successful!
Regardless, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this event to others and hope to take part again in future… Although next time I’ll allow even more travelling time! 🙂 In the meantime, I need to get my phone fixed !!
NEXT UP – London Winter Walk (20K), Sunday 14 January 2018
Laura's footprints 