On Good Friday, whilst some intrepid Harriers headed towards the coast for the Folkestone 10, I opted to venture inland to Victoria Park in Hackney for Run Through’s Easter Event. There were 5k, 10k and half marathon options all running various lap combinations round the park. (5k = 1.5 laps, 10k = 3 laps, 1/2 M = 6.5 laps if you’re interested). The route is on tarmacked paths with a mere 38ft elevation gain so pretty flat, therefore in theory good for a fast time.
The Half Marathon started at 9:30am with the 5k and 10k starting at 10:00am and 10:05am respectively. Given the number of different options and competitors, I must say the event was extremely well organised. Pre-race instructions had advised that there may be queues for number collection and bag drop, but I experienced neither. The only queue was for the loos (as always) and actually these moved very quickly. There were marshals on course to direct and remind you how many laps you needed to complete. The water station was well stocked and as each lap was approximately 3k, you were never too far from some water if needed.
I had chosen to run the 10k to get a fast race in my legs before the London Marathon. I had hoped to beat my 10k PB and for it to be a confidence boost, unfortunately things didn’t quite go to plan. A combination of the heat and generally feeling fatigued meant that although I started off comfortably not only was I not able to pick up my pace as I had planned but I started slowing down rapidly by halfway. I finished 110th out of 579 (20th out of 292 women) in a time of 47:21 a couple of seconds outside my previous best time.
However the Easter Bunny shaped medal, flapjack and glorious sunshine made up for my disappointment. Also there is a great playground in Victoria Park so the children were happy and as the race looped round 3 times they got to cheer me on multiple times. However at £22 it’s not a cheap 10k. Luckily due to it being a public holiday the parking restrictions were suspended so we didn’t have to pay to park and we were able to find a space quite easily. Outside of public holidays parking may be more problematic.
The winner of the 10k was Chris Booth in 33:20. First female was Katie Lysons in 39:13. I did not spot any other Harriers in any of the races but apologies if I missed you.
Sonja King
