Bupa 10,000 - London

Monday was the Bupa 10,000 in central London.

I was excited about running in my favourite city and 10km is not too daunting for a bank holiday Monday.

I was well behaved the night before (unlike in Los Angeles) eating LOTS of pasta and bread (with a quarter of a cheesecake for afters.) A little indulgent I feel but at least I was going to run (a percentage of) it off in the morning.

I arrived at Green Park (so called because the King once gave a flower to a lady in waiting whilst walking in the park so the Queen promptly had all flowers removed from the park) and had to pick up my number as it didn't arrive in the post. Quite a lengthy queue but it moved pretty quickly and it gave me a chance to finish my breakfast :-)

I was in the first start wave so made my way down to the pens. We were starting the race on The Mall with our backdrop being Buckingham Palace. A stunning place to line up. Soon enough the pen was filled up and the familiar feeling of body heat surrounded me.

The elites made their way to the start line and at 10am we were off. Down The Mall and through Trafalgar Square. Along The Strand through The Aldwych and around Holborn where I used to work when I very first moved to London in 2000. Lovely memories. On through The City and St Paul's I was thoroughly enjoying every kilometer that passed and the sights were certainly enjoyable to see.

Soon we were back on The Strand and were passing (in the opposite direction) those from subsequent start waves completing their first kilometer.

The last KM is always a tough one as the end feels so close but yet it's really hard to up the pace. I had forgotten to wear my watch so I had no idea how well I was doing so just kept up as best I could and crossed the line in front of Buckingham Palace with Prince Harry waving to me from the balcony. OK so that last bit is a lie but it's true to say that is where the race finished.

I heard the race commentator saying that we were approaching 37 minutes on the clock which I was happy with. The clock was still showing 36m 50s when I went across meaning that I was inside the 36m mark as I set off a little after the gun start time. My official result was:

Overall place: 301
Gender place: 266
10KM time: 36 minutes 46 seconds
5KM split time: 18 minutes 15 seconds    

Not a bad result at all out of 12,000 runners and a very elite field in front of me! Jo Pavey retaining her title after having been up all night ill the night before baffles me. She is amazing and I love chasing her in races :-)

So I was actually only 20 seconds off a PB which if I had worn my watch maybe I would have been able to make up? Let's see at the next 10KM in a few months time.

Post race I enjoyed a lovely walk through this fabulous city, some retail therapy (a must on a bank holiday) and a swim in the Olympic Pool. Sadly no trace of the Team GB diving team at the pool though. Maybe one day my stalking will pay off eh?

Start line featuring Ms. Pavey:

Waiting for the pen to fill up: 

Looking back to a rather marvellous house: 

City 19 done: Los Angeles

A little bit behind on updating the blog; however I have completed my 19th Olympic City. Los Angeles has been ticked off the list.

My holiday in LA was awesome and included:

 - Shopping in Jimmy Choo on Rodeo Drive

 - Hiking in the Hollywood Hills

 - Riding tandems along Venice Beach

 - Drag shows at Hamburger Mary's

 - Getting very drunk in West Hollywood

 - Manicures on Sunset

However; I should talk about the actual race right? Well I had entered the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland and it took place on Sunday 10th May. 

The race was an early one starting at 5:30am. The alarm went off at 3:30am and I showered and was ready to leave for race start at 4am. I didn’t actually feel too tired given the lack of sleep. I made my way through Downtown Disney (eating a bowl of porridge on the way) and dropped my bag off. The atmosphere at the race start area was good and the energy was pumping despite the early start. When I arrived the song playing was by the Spice Girls. Did they know I was coming?! 

Fellow runners were a mixture of civilians in ordinary running gear (like me) and those that had been completely Disneyfied and had transformed into various Disney Princess’ and mostly Tinkerbell. I spotted one male runner in a t-shirt with the slogan “Evil Fairy” which I was very jealous over.

We made our way to the start corals in the fairly pleasant temperature. The race was billed as a female focused half marathon meaning that there wasn’t as much testosterone in the start pens as I am used to. I was in start wave B since the A group was reserved exclusively for woman. I spoke to fellow runners who had all run other Disney events before. I can honestly say that the atmosphere was amongst the most friendly I have ever experienced. This truly was going to be a happy race in the happiest place on Earth. My only slight worry was when one competitor had asked me why I was running in the US. I explained about my challenge and this was the turn of LA. He apologized and said that he didn’t like to disappoint me but we weren’t actually in LA and that Disneyland is actually in the city of Orange County so this wouldn’t count. I humoured him whilst thinking to myself that in my eyes it count as a run in LA and for those who don’t agree I had already done a training run from West Hollywood into Beverly Hills (which incidentally I loved) so I had already covered an LA run if people decided not to accept this one.

Given my behavior (in terms of alcohol consumption and lack of sleep) the previous few days I wasn’t going to be aiming for a PB. After all; it was only 24 hours earlier that I had gotten home from the Hamburger Mary’s and West Hollywood drinking session so that clearly isn’t on par with my normal race preparation. So I was just ready to have fun on the run.

The ten second countdown then started. We were off. Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck (still on girl power theme of the event) waved us off as we crossed the line. The ladies in zone A had set off about 8-10 minutes before my group and since I was at the front of my group it meant it was pretty clear as we made our way along Disneyland Drive for the first mile.

I was keeping fairly good pace and there was only one runner in front of me. He was going very quickly so I had no intention of trying to catch him. As we passed mile 1 I had already caught up with the zone A group. As I was going passed lots of the woman were saying “here come the men, good job” which was secretly a bit of an ego boost.

We then entered the first of the two Disney parks and passed a few characters on the sidelines which was fun. We went through the familiar themed lands and soon enough were passing down Main Street USA and through the famous Disney castle. Even the most manly of men (including me) would struggle not to find that part of the run exciting.

As we carried on past miles 3 and 4 I noticed that I was actually catching up with the leading man. Soon I was then running next to him. I thought we would continue to run together but after a few minutes he started to fall behind. I carried on at my own pace passing miles 5 and 6 still overtaking the last few woman from the leading pack. As I reached mile 7 I was running on my own with no runners in sight ahead of me and as far as I could tell none behind me either. At this point we had left the actual Disney parks and were running on the surrounding streets which were (as all things American) huge wide boulevards. There were pockets of supporters which felt great to run past as it felt like my own personal fans. I high fived a lot of them as I went past to say thanks for being up so early and having the energy to cheer at 6am.

So I was running alone bar the official who was cycling next to me as I was the leader of the men’s race. As we passed each mile I could hear him radio in saying “lead male passing mile 8” and would quote the official clock time as I passed the marker. As this happened at miles 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 I really then wanted to finish in first place out of the men. I had said to myself at the start that I wasn’t interested in doing a good time but when you have lead a race for this long it would be devastating to lose out in the last few hundred meters. As I was nearing the end the man on the bike told me it was just around the corner and I was home. I pushed on through and the crowds were lined up either side of the last stretch of the race. The cheers were very welcomed. Just as I crossed the line I heard the commentator say that “Michael Long from London" coming home in first place out of the men” which was amazing to hear. I had finished in second place overall but first out of all the men. Not a bad feat out of 16,000 people in total. My finish time was 1 hour 21 minutes 27 seconds. So not a PB but I was really happy. Perhaps it was the fairy wings on my trainers that brought me home in second place?

So that's city number 19 done. I can't believe there are only 4 more cities to go. I am getting worried I won't know what to do with myself when this challenge is finished!

Race bling:

Finishers photo:

The main girl of the race:

It's all about the wings:

The Electric Run, London

Hello Wembley!

Tonight was the Electric Run in London which promised to be the brightest 5km in the World. It did not let me down and delivered on the promise.

For my journey to the run I had hidden my flashing bracelet in my bag as it couldn't actually turn it off. Best to keep it hidden as nobody likes a flasher on the public transport do they? I was; however hoping the battery would last until the end of the run.

Stepping off the tube at Wembley Park I was greeted by the magnificent arch of the Stadium completely lit up in pink. It looked stunning. It was a lovely tribute to the main charity of the night (Breast Cancer Care.)

Lining up at the start the DJ was pumping. The crowd were covered in ultra violet glasses, tops, skirts and a plethora of other paraphernalia. Some were drinking. Some were smoking. It was most definitely a fun run. The build up to kick off time was great. Glow sticks were being thrown into the crowd. The lights were every colour imaginable and the music was electric too. Before I knew it a dance version of Wannabe was on and the ten second count down started. I was shamelesely excited by the choice of song for the start and then we were off. The bracelet which I had now retrieved from my bag and placed firmly on my wrist was now gone. Bollocks. Clearly I hadn't attached it well enough.

Running was a light pace with competitors running, jogging, walking and dancing their way along. We circumnavigated the stadium which gave great views of the finish line below as well as those waiting to start in a later wave.

We passed inflatable ice creams, cakes (which amazingly smelt of bubble gum) and people on stilts.

The KMs were passing quickly and soon we were at a water stop. The cups were all different colours and I wish all drink stations could be like this. All too soon we approached the final stretch which saw us under rainbow coloured arches. The 5km had gone by in a flash. I hadn't timed myself but I would say it had all gone by in less than 25 minutes. The time wasn't important. Tonight was all about electricity.

In summary it was lovely. It was fun. It made me want to head straight to Ibiza (or at a minimum to Soho to see the night out.)

Alas I have returned home and am enjoying a decaf coffee and a macaroon whilst I write. I guess I can't be rock n roll all the time eh?

Thanks Electric Run. I will be back to join you again.

Flashing on the tube:

The beautiful Wembley Stadium arch:

Getting ready at the start line:

WANNABE! Let's go!

I can smell bubblegum:

Runners everywhere!

A drinks station like no other!

The final stretch to the finish line: