The Pride 10km, London

A few weeks ago Gay Pride took over London. A fantastic atmosphere as always.

Last weekend on 15th August was the Pride 10km in Victoria Park in London. It was my first time getting to take part in the event and I was really looking forward to it. Especially as I was given the coveted participant number 69. Couldn't have wished for a better one!

With Victoria Park being in East London it is not an area I have ventured to frequently (with me being based in West London); however arriving at the park it was clear I should make the journey more often. It's a lovely spot and with the sun shining it was shaping up to be a perfect place and day for a race.

I had my two year old niece Jessica in tow with me which meant that my warm up consisted of us doing some spins together and taking her to see the colourful garlands the start marshalls were wearing. I didn't mind as I wasn't particularly aiming for a top time so the day was all about having fun.

There were around 1,200 people running which meant that the start line wasn't too crowded. I handed Jessica over to Steven and got a place in the first wave. The count down happened and we were off. Three circuits of the park ahead of us.

The group spread out fairly quickly and the first lap seemed to go pretty quickly. Jessica and Steven gave me a good cheer. By the second lap I could hear someone just behind me and we stayed that way all the way around. Steven and Jessica gave me a good cheer this time with some rainbow Union Jacks they had managed to get hold of. On the third lap the breathing behind me got closer (in a non slasher movie way) and the runner slightly overtook me. It was certainly good having someone running at the same pace to keep me pushing myself. I kept up with him and and in the last few hundred meters I pulled myself past him and crossed the finish line with a final cheer from Jessica and Steven.

I placed 23rd in a time of 36 minutes and 59 seconds which despite me not aiming for a PB is a good time and my fastest one of the year. So maybe spinning with a toddler is the way to warm up from now on?!

It was a fantastic event and enjoying a picnic in the park post run was a delight. A lovely day and I was proud to be part of it.

Until next year Pride 10km :-)

Breakfast on the tube. What other way is there to dine?

The best race number I have ever been given:

One more hug before starting:

Action shot:

Post race stretching:

The Highland Games: Perth half marathon

I have been lucky enough to live in the following places:

Athens
Brussels
Perth, Scotland
Newcastle Upon Tyne
London
Sydney

My parents were from Liverpool so I also count this as one of my lived in places since I have spent many a school holiday there during my youth.

So long before my Olympic challenge I had said to myself that I would like to run in all of the above places. Perth was the only remaining one and two weeks ago on the 8th August I got to tick it off.

It was the inaugural Perth half marathon which formed part of the Highland Games weekend. Ordinarily the longest event was the Perth Kilt run...a 5km where participants run in kilts. Fairly self explanatory eh? But this year would be the first half marathon. Kilts were not expected but you were encouraged to wear a touch of tartan.

I signed up. I left London on the Caledonian Sleeper on Friday night and arrived into Perth at 6am Saturday morning. A mere 4.5 hours prior to start time of the race. I have the ability to sleep anywhere so I had grabbed a few hours of shut eye on the train, so much so that I had a panic I had missed my stop. Fortunately I was mistaken and was only at Stirling. It turned out to be a good place to wake up as the sunrise was spectacular.

I wandered through central Perth to the park (known as the Inch) reminiscing about my mid to late teen years spent in the city. It felt lovely to be back.

I registered and picked up my number. I stored my cases and jumped onto the bus to the start line. We were taken out of town to the airport. In the three years I had lived in Perth I had never known there was an airport so everyday was indeed a school day. The race would take us through the rural hills and farms back towards the city with the final approach via Scone (that's pronounced Scoone despite what Shakespeare may have thought when he penned Macbeth) and over the bridge back to the Inch where we would finish.

There were around 300 of us running including my friend Lesley and her boyfriend Alan. I hadn't seen Lesley since I was 19 so it was a real treat to meet up again.

The instructions were to keep running straight until we saw either an arrow pointing us to turn or a marshall told us to do so. There were going to be water stops every three miles. Seemed simple. We all lined up at the start and were given a ten second count down. Off we went. I was in the start of the group and out in to the countryside we went.

The terrain was different to my usual London urban training ground but it was beautiful being out in the sunshine, Fairly quickly into the first mile I felt the leader pull me away from those behind us. As we moved up to the first mile marker I couldn't hear anyone behind me and the leader was quickly going out of my view. He was quick.

Three miles came pretty quickly and the first water stop. It was refreshing. We carried on through a few farms including one where a little dog followed me for a while. I was worried if he trailed me for too long he would get lost but he soon stopped and turned back to the farm buildings. Phew.

We then were running parallel to the river Tay. It was beautiful. As I was on my own it felt like I had the entire countryside to myself. I had never been around this area and I was enjoying the semi trail run rather than the typical road race I am used to. However; as I glanced at my watch I noticed the time creep passed the time when I would expect to hit the six mile mark. Had I missed a turn? I carried on for you a while. The water stop still wasn't there. About another 5 minutes later I was still firmly on my own and was starting to think that I was either going to have to turn around or stop and wait for a few minutes to see if anyone caught me up. Just as I turned the corner I saw a marshall. I felt elated. I was still on track! It turned out that the water station had been a little before six miles and wasn't quite ready when I had gone past. Nevermind. At least it meant I wasn't running off in the wrong direction into the Scottish Highlands.

The rest of the race went smoothly and crossing the river back into central Perth felt good. It really is a picturesque city. Our last few miles were circumnavigating the Inch which was pleasant and despite me taking a slightly wrong turn where a marshall informed me that "you're ganging the wrong way" (I love the Scottish accent) I crossed the line in second place. Much more than I ever expected. I was lucky enough to be given a porridge mixer (a gift from the Perth kilt run in Canada) as well as collecting a prize from the race today. My time was 1 hour 23 minutes 21 seconds.

The rest of the weekend went something like this:

 - Post race cider celebrations with Lesley and Alan
 - Two nights out with a dear friend
 - 4 mate dates in one day (some whom I hadn't seen for years)
 - A trip on the Caledonian Sleeper back to London in time for work on Monday morning

The race was really good fun and I hope they decide to run it again as I would love to come back. Maybe I could even try and go for first place now I know the terrain and route?!

Thanks Perth!

Waking up to a stunning sunrise in Stirling:

Me, Lesley and Alan post race. Their tartan effort far out stripped (the willow) mine:

Collecting my second place prize: