British 10K London Run this morning

(I guess this is the right forum for this?) Anyone else run this race this morning?

Last Thursday was my one year anniversary of my bone marrow transplant, and I've been planning a special celebration of my own for about six months now, when I got it into my head that I should run a 10k to mark the occasion.

This morning was the British 10K London Run and even though I've been running around the river for the past 3-4 months to train for this, I had only managed 10km in my last three runs so I was feeling pretty nervous and hoping only to run the whole thing (no walking!) and to maybe finish in under an hour.





I had a fantastic run, and though it was a definite slog at times, the memory of three friends who died last year despite their transplants really kept me going (I wrote their names on my hand to motivate me). I couldn’t believe it when I saw the clock at the finish line – 54:22!! And now the official chip timings are released, and it's come down to 53:48!!  I know a lot of the other runners made a point to pat me on the back and say "well done" when they saw my "one year post transplant" written on my back, which really helped, too.

You can see more photos (including the names on my hand) in this gallery and if you'd like to donate, my sponsorship page will be open for a while longer. Though signing up to the bone marrow registry is totally free and I swear to you that it's NOT the painful ordeal it used to be a few years ago and it's not the same registry as general organ donation. Please take a minute look into it, okay?

Thank you again to the many people on here who have encouraged and supported me over the past 18 months, and I hope my race today has inspired others.

Congratulations on a job well done!!   

Well done on a great time!!! I couldn't run 10K if I were being chased, so I'm always impressed by people who run races! 

Wow! Great job! I did that race last year. It was a lot of fun and very scenic.

Well done! And great time! 

Good going.

Congrats!  I did it last year, and it was fine..but kind of poorly organized, I thought?

But very scenic. 

Congrats!  I did it last year, and it was fine..but kind of poorly organized, I thought?

But very scenic. 

Well, the fact that we stood there for over an hour before starting listening to the graduation march over and over and over (who knew it had lyrics?! ) was annoying. And that they'd run out of water at all the stops except the turn around at the tunnel was annoying (especially since it was HOT!) I sort of didn't care as much since I was running through London.

That was my thing!  Like, I ran it in a little over an hour (maybe 65 minutes)  I'm not a fast runner.  But I would have expected some water to be available, I certainly wasn't the last person coming in.  They also were running out of the finisher bags at the end, which I think was unfortunate.  I got one, but people behind me didn't.

Did both of you run it last year? I knew what to expect because I'm on the Runners World forums so I got there as soon as the baggage bays opened at 8am, checked a carrier bag containing only their crappy teeshirt (if you don't check a bag, there's a chance you won't get a medal!!), and used the toilet before I left, taking care to only drink a little bit whilst in the starting pens. The only pre-race music blaring was from the military band, and during the race there were maybe 5 or 6 spots with music and somebody on the microphone. I bring my own music anyway so that didn't bother me. There was plenty of water, but I was very near the start so I can't say how the walkers fared. No real congestion, and the runners and crowds were all super friendly throughout.

All in all, my only complaints were inconsistent mileage signs and a pretty crappy goodie bag for the money. In subsequent years I'll run the Bupa 10,000 since it's a tenner cheaper and has much better starting pens, but for this year I really needed to run this one for its proximity to my one-year date.

I was able to run it last year, because I happened to be in London last summer (June/July). There are SOOOOOO many great races in London and the area that I want to do. I might do this one again, but if not, I won't be starved for choices otherwise. My bf lives in London and is a runner. He knows a lot about most of the races in the area and usually can tell me if it's worth it or not. He sent me this link yesterday and I really want to do it, just for this view alone!!
http://www.runwindsor.com/next.htm

SP- are you going to continue running after this? I can't remember if you were a runner before this race or not (I'm guessing so with that great 10k time!!)

Well done SP, what an awesome time and achievement! You look great, I'm glad it was such a positive experience.

I am not a runner because I am podgy But I have set the mayor's skyride this year, as a fitness goal, I got a bike about 3 weeks ago (I never learned as a kid) and I've just about learned to cycle without falling over now

I should hopefully be road ready by September, I'm really looking forward to it, as I think the view will be awesome Although I remember how annoying it was when I lived in tower hill and they closed off all the streets
 
http://www.goskyride.com/city/details.aspx?cityid=4

SP- are you going to continue running after this? I can't remember if you were a runner before this race or not (I'm guessing so with that great 10k time!!)

Oh yeah. I'd like to see anyone stop me running!! (This actually wasn't my PB - I did the 2008 Bupa London 10,000 in 51:13 and was only getting started fine-tuning my speed when I got ill). I keep my races to one a year because I don't like to travel outside London for them and my poor fiance isn't really thrilled at getting up early to stand and take photos. But in terms of personal running goals, I really want to make the push to be able to run AND work in the same day again without falling over, and once I've done that, increase my runs back up to three a week like they used to be (right now I'm only doing two a week, on my day off and Saturdays).

But having a good running base before getting ill meant that even on my first post-illness run I could still go for 5km without too much effort, so I just had to push and claw my way back from 5 to 10km for the race. I run around the river, so I did it one bridge at a time...

I am not a runner because I am podgy

I was podgy until I became a runner.

But that skyride looks great! I used to cycle in America but I'm terrified to on London roads so I don't even own a bike here. But without traffic even I could enjoy that!

But having a good running base before getting ill meant that even on my first post-illness run I could still go for 5km without too much effort, so I just had to push and claw my way back from 5 to 10km for the race. I run around the river, so I did it one bridge at a time...
I was podgy until I became a runner.

But that skyride looks great! I used to cycle in America but I'm terrified to on London roads so I don't even own a bike here. But without traffic even I could enjoy that!

heh heh, I definitely want to start running soon, it's an ambition, but I have some podge to loose first, slow exhausting sweaty jogs are my forte at the moment

Yay, do the skyride! I'm really excited about cycling through the streets with them all blocked off, 2008 was Buckingham palace to Tower of London, I think about 10KM in total

You could always rent a bike from that Barclay's cycling scheme thing
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/12444.aspx

I'm debating walking one of the Northern 10ks with Mr MLG. I just want my time to be under the 2 hours so it's logged. I am not a runner! 

Congrats to all of you who have done runs!