Race For Life 10k Review

Sunday 19th July came round rather quickly and before I knew it it was time for the Race for Life 10k. I met up with Emma (1oo Days No TV), Olivia (Crave More Beauty), and Olivia’s fab friend Keighley at Parkers Piece ready to get going.

Having never taken part in the event before I was unsure what it would be like. I knew we would be taking part in a warm up but it was not quite what I was expecting – I do not have the coordination for those moves!

At 11am it was time to take our places at the start line with the majority of the other 10k runners. The 5k runners were sent off shortly after. The first half of the route seemed well thought out as we ran through the city centre and college grounds, but as we approached the 5k mark the route didn’t seem to flow as well. We were taken across a field where the sign ‘uneven ground’ was an understatement. The marshalls became more spread out at this point and there was a bit of a issue with runners who were making their way back to Jesus Green colliding with runners who were at about 6k. Some of the gates could not cope with the sheer volume of people. I don’t know what I was expecting from the finish, but arriving at Jesus Green at the same time as the 5k runners meant that there was chaos as everyone made a mad dash to the finish line.

My race did go better than I thought it would given that I had only ran about 6k in my training, so I was pleased to make it the whole way round. I made the mistake of not eating or drinking enough beforehand so I was starving and dehydrated by the time I got home. I was very grateful for the bottle of water, tasty Upbeat protein drink, and even the strange brioche snack that they handed out. The dog tag style medal also made a change from the traditional style medals you normally receive at the end of races.

Overall it is a great event that is brilliant for raising awareness and money for such a worthwhile cause. I hope that the organisers give some consideration to the route for next time though. The day reawakened my love of running and I am already itching to get back out there. I am even thinking about my next planned event!

On a separate note I bought a running belt I found on Amazon so that I would have a way to carry round my keys, money, parking ticket, phone etc. It is made by RunBaby and it was brilliant!