After my muddy and somewhat unplanned adventure through the greenbelt of Chessington yesterday I was looking forward to the smooth road running of the 5 mile Newham Anniversary Run, which would take in the sights of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. I registered for this race when I noticed the date and location; I'd already planned to be in London today and used to live just up the road in Leyton. This was actually the last place I lived in London before moving up to Manchester 5 and a half years ago, and Stratford was my nearest shopping centre as well as being part of my daily commute to Bermondsey for some years. I'd not visited the area since the redevelopment for London 2012 and so participation in the race seemed like a good excuse to nosey round an old stomping ground as well as an exciting way to spend my last morning in the capital.
| Kieron, my mum's partner, came with me to support, which was lovely as I've never done a race with anyone (who wasn't also running!) there before and it was great to have some company on the journey, as well as avoiding the need to use baggage drops (though I'm sure they were very well organised!). Just to keep things interesting, I became aware on the way of an almost-pull/niggle in my right calf, almost certainly caused by yesterday's missions over horse-trampled fields and rain soaked paths but I kept my mouth shut. I have a semi-superstition with these things that they only become a real issue if you acknowledge them. |  Before the Race |
There's a limit to this of course and I don't think even I would be daft enough to race with a real injury, however I do also think that it can be psychologically undermining to allow too much room to such worries and refusing to verbalise them is certainly a good first step to avoiding the slippery slope of self defeat! Thankfully, I must've done something right as after a careful stretch (I didn't do a warm up run as I wasn't aiming for a particular time) I was free from discomfort and completely forgot about it for the whole race! It didn't get worse afterwards either so I was very lucky I think.
The run itself was started by Sir Chris Hoy and the Mayor of Newham. I'm not quite sure why a cyclist was chosen to kick off a running event, even admitting "I don't run myself but I'm sure it's a nice day for one", but it's always nice when well known personalities support such events. We did run a lap round the velodrome after all and with 2 gold medals to his name, he certainly has the Olympic link licked!
The run itself was started by Sir Chris Hoy and the Mayor of Newham. I'm not quite sure why a cyclist was chosen to kick off a running event, even admitting "I don't run myself but I'm sure it's a nice day for one", but it's always nice when well known personalities support such events. We did run a lap round the velodrome after all and with 2 gold medals to his name, he certainly has the Olympic link licked!
I was in the red wave, which set off first and the mood around me was one of focus and determination. We had been warned by the organisers not to underestimate the heat, despite the cloud cover and that we should be content to just enjoy the run and not push for a PB. They had a good point of course and as mentioned I wasn't aiming for one myself but I defy any runner to be in a race and not get caught up in the atmosphere, finding yourself running faster than you might have planned! Predictably, this was certainly the case for me as I glanced at my watch on a beep to see a clocked time of 6 minutes and 42 seconds for mile 2. 'That felt easy!' I mused and saw no need to hold back at all with only 3 miles left to go! How typical that I felt so effortlessly strong in a race that I wasn't really racing! Why hadn't I felt this strong in the 10k last Sunday?! Hey ho, C'est La Vie! It was good anyway when I had enough puff to comment to one struggling runner walking up a bit of a hill, that we were over half way. 'Less than 2 miles left mate, you can do this!' I called out and it was lovely when this seemed to have given him some genuine encouragement and he started running again. 'Strong running!' I observed as I passed by and he acknowledged me with gratitude. I've heard it said that you only keep what you give and sure enough, though it hadn't been my intention, I got a boost myself just knowing I'd helped. There was a similar moment a little further on when I noticed another runner calling out something similar to one who'd slowed to a walk. 'Nearly there!' I joined in. I love how supportive of one another the running community is, even in theoretically competitive situations. The speakers playing Chariots of Fire on the last half mile were an amusing, if cheesy, touch and I'm sure provided the audio fuel for a last bit of digging deep for many, myself included!
 | It was then lovely to spot Kieron at the side just on the last 200 metres; so glad I spotted him in time to give a cheery wave and not get snapped on a sprint-gurn! We met with out a hitch shortly after I finished thanks to the well planned meeting points and managed to get over to see the winners receive their trophies before heading into the new hopping centre for a quick baby wipe shower in the loos. Luverly! I then met with a friend and spent a very pleasant few hours exploring the changes round Stratford. |
| I was so pleased to find that the huge new development appears to have had very little impact on the old shopping centre with many of my favourite independent stores still firmly in business. A good day was rounded off into a great day when I checked the official results to find that I had placed 7th woman with an official time of 33.52. During the UKRunChat hour on Twitter tonight I was also told that I'd been spotted as one of the first 10 women and my number had been called out at the finish! I think that's certainly the best I've done on such a big event! It's hard to compare my performance today with that of last Sunday as they are different courses and different distances but I'm pretty sure I did at least as well. Just goes to show (yet again!) that you can't easily predict the extent to which different factors affect your performance and the best prepped races don't always go any better than the ones you just rock up to for a bit of fun! Fun it was though, and with yet another medal to my hoard and another number to stick on my race wall, I'm going to have to seriously consider some more permanent display solutions if I keep going at this rate! |  Another Medal! Get In! |
So, farewell to London and congratulations and thanks due to the organisers and finishers of the Newham Anniversary Race 2014. I shaln't yet promise to see you next year but I'm not ruling it out either, dates permitting! Next race will hopefully be the third Todmorden 5k on Thursday! I wonder if I'll bump into Ian, the Todmorden Harriers runner who I said hello to after recognising his club shirt post race! It's a small world for this running lark but surely a more friendly one for it and certainly one I'm increasingly glad to have found my way into!
 Post-race Larks in Stratford! |  Patiently awaiting April 26th 2015! |  A second attempt at the Winey Hill Dial! (In case you'd been wondering from yesterday... This is what the dial looks like when a bag doesn't obscure the camera! Cleaner feet this time but scratched up legs!) |
