For full disclosure purposes, I received a free entry to the Great Newham London Run in return for writing about my experience. I was not paid to write this post and all opinions are my own.
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!
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 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.
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.
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!
Thank you again to Simply Health for the race spot! They're the sponsors for the Great Newham London Run and have an amazing campaign to get #millionsmoving! They're trying to encourage more people to get moving and make the most out of everyday by running, jogging or walking, which is awesome and something I am totally behind supporting!
Bonus Vlog..
Question: Have you ever done the Great Newham London Run before? Whats the best race finish you've ever experienced?
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