Report from Nicola Swann

Back in February Royal Parks Half Marathon Ballot entry happened to pop up on my Facebook feed. It sounded like a good route so I entered the ballot and a week later I found out that I had a place. Knowing that it was on the weekend of Phil’s birthday I approached the fact that I had a place by asking if he fancied a weekend in London for his birthday. He knows me so well that he answered with, that would be nice and what race are you wanting to do?

So, I booked a Premier Inn for the weekend and on Friday evening we set off for London. We stayed in Hampstead Heath. Close enough to the race start on Sunday but also close enough that I could walk to parkrun on Saturday before breakfast. I would recommend Hampstead Heath parkrun. Two laps round the Heath on a mixture of tarmac and trail paths.

 My son Daniel had come with us and when he announced that he last went to London when he was 6 (he’s now 16) and he wanted to see the big landmarks then that’s what we did. I’m not sure whether it was the best pre-race day plan but we had fun. However, by the evening I had done about 15 miles, 5 miles running before breakfast and then the rest of the day walking around Central London. We were all tired!

We had an early night and then I was up and out early on Sunday morning leaving them to have a lie in and an all you can eat breakfast and made my way to the start in Hyde Park. It was an unseasonably warm morning and set to get warmer. It was brilliantly organised and there were tonnes of toilets for plenty of pre-race wee’s. And at 9am I made my way to my correct pen to be walked to the start. 

It was a great route coming out of the park and heading down to Buckingham Palace, going right in front of the Palace before turning up past Westminster Abbey, Charing Cross and then back down Whitehall and the Mall to go past Buckingham Palace again before heading into the Royal Parks. I enjoyed this bit as it was like the best bits of the London Marathon, but I was able to appreciate them more as I wasn’t totally shattered having done nearly 26 miles.

The route then meandered through the parks. The support was great and at points it felt a bit like an enormous parkrun on a Sunday. My legs were telling me that it was significantly further. In the heat I had already decided to keep it steady. The water stations were using ‘eco-friendly’ paper cups which was great, but I can’t run and drink from a paper cup so I made the decision to walk the water stations as I needed to make sure I stayed hydrated and drank plenty. I really enjoyed the course and although I was glad to be finishing I still felt like I might have had a bit left in the tank. I met Phil and Daniel in the Events Village at the end after collecting my medal and tshirt. Despite the heat, I probably walked about another 4/5 miles after I finished before catching the early evening train home. A great weekend, amazing weather and a great race