This past Sunday was race day! It was the Great Newham London Run 10k race. I've done this race 3 times in the past and love the stadium finish, so I was looking forward to returning a 4th time! The few days leading up to the race were a little gloomy and I was actually pretty happy about it, it was super hot last year, so I was hoping for a cooler day.. I didn't get that!

The Day Of..
We didn't have to wake up so early for this race which is great. Phillips start time was 10:30AM - so we only needed to be at the start by 9-9:30AM. We also didn't have to catch any tubes, we drove straight to Westfield Shopping Center which is about 10 min walk from the park and the start. Super convenient!
It was already pretty warm, and we arrived a little earlier than expected, so had a longer wait. First stop was the loos.. which had non existent queues which is epic! They split up the baggage area and toilet areas between the 4 waves which worked out really well imo especially compared to the queues last year!

After a fairly long wait in the sun, it was time for Phillip to get into his starting pen at 10AM with the warmup at 10:15 ish and the start at 10:25AM. I then had an hour to wait for my wave to assemble and I headed into the pens at 11AM, by which time, it was already pretty hot... and Phillip had finished!

The Race..
The warmup was done about 5 mins before the start, nothing too intense as we were already pretty warm, but the warmup is so important and I enjoyed taking part in it.
The race started at 11:20AM for the green wave, it took a little while to cross the start line as it's quite narrow at the start but we got going eventually!

The course is much the same as last year with a couple of changes at the end, the start heads away from the stadium, with a couple of double backs where you can see runners ahead and behind of you on the other sides of the road. The route then takes you past the London Aquatics Center before heading up towards the Copper Box Arena, around Leo Valley Velo Park before heading back towards the stadium.
There was a shower at the 4KM mark.. which sadly, I couldn't go through as my phone on my armband isn't waterproof or covered! There were two water stations out on the course too, which were really well organised at 5K mark and 7.5KM. There were also lots of bands, steel drums and big speakers out on the course with some music to provide us with some motivation along with the usual charity support which were amazing!

The last part of the course at the after the 8KM mark dragged for me. I was exhausted in the heat and was praying to be finished! The last part of the course runs around a track outside the stadium, then there is a loop through the tunnels before exiting inside the stadium for a lap and a sprint finish.
The part inside the stadium is the part of the race I look forward to most as it's usually a spectacular atmosphere. I unfortunately didn't get that same pump this time round, there wasn't the roar from the spectators that there has been in previous years but it is still the highlight of the race for me, there's something about running into and around the stadium!.. Phillip did say he had a different experience said and said the crowds were very upbeat when he came through.
Overall Thoughts..
If you've never done this race before or if you want a hint of nostalgia looking back on the Olympic venues used back in 2012 then I definitely think it should be one for the list.

It is quiiite the undulating course, so it's well worth getting in some hill training if you plan on doing it next year! You can sign up for their reminder service HERE if you're interested in when entries open for next year.

You get some decent race bling, a nice tech t-shirt and some yummy goodies in the goodie bag - and the race entry I think is pretty reasonable at £32 too compared to other races!

Overall, it's an event I really enjoy and Great Run do a spectacular job of organising the event - kudos to sorting out the baggage and loo situation since last year!

Bonus Vlog..
Question: Have you ever done the Great Newham London Run before? Whats the best race finish you've ever experienced?