London 10,000

Congested? Yes! Spectacular? Definitely!

The Vitality London 10,000 is an amazing race featuring around 15,000 runners from elites, like Mo Farrah, to charity runners trying the distance for the first time. These races are supported with live music and large crowds, especially through the West End.

Starting on the Mall, the route passes through Admiralty Arch, past Nelson’s Column before taking in the West End of London. Water stops bookend the City which goes past Guildhall and St.Pauls Cathedral as runners return to St.James’s Park finishing across the line in front of Buckingham Palace. It’s congested pretty much all the way around, not horrifically, but certainly incredibly busy – conversely this does give the race a huge atmosphere.

Pre-Race was incredibly busy; queuing for half an hour for toilets and a 15-minute pigeon step to the start line. That’s not to say that it wasn’t well-organised, but with so many runners and tens of thousands of supporters, gridlock was inevitable. The bag drop was simple, there was an on-site festival (including excellent children’s zone with games and free face painting) and lots of brilliant spectator opportunities. Being in Green Park it was also a great location to arrive/depart to with a number of tube stations on the doorstep.

The bling was excellent – especially given the reasonable entry for such an amazingly situated race – a heavy and beautifully designed medal, a great New Balance technical t-shirt and some high-quality food and drink bits.

Congested? Yes! Spectacular? Definitely! The Vitality London 10,000m is a superbly-organised event that wiggles right through the heart of London. Massively enjoyable and a great fixture on the race calendar.

Personal running stats

Time – 53:22
Report – Paced around my sister-in-law to her new PB, 6 miles of negative splits and a sprint across the line. Very comfortable.