The race started in Hyde Park at 9am on Sunday. However, the festival itself started at 7:30am.
The atmosphere was good among the 16,000 runners and the weather was dray and mild. I was approached by a woman who was from Aberdeen JogScotland, who said she recognised me “wow, what a small world!!”.
We all had to be in our funnels by 8:40am to start at 9am. I was in the Green Zone so I wasn’t long in getting through the start. From Hyde Park we took a loft down the side of Buckingham Palace, along Green Park, then down St James Park to The Houses of Parliament, along the bridge and turned to go along the Embankment, past The London Eye, along to Temple, where we double backed on ourselves through Admiralty Arch and down the Mall. This was my favourite part, great seeing Buckingham Palace in front of you. The route was thick with supporters cheering you on, which was magic. From here, past Wellington Arch around Hyde Park, then through Kensington Gardens, then onto the finish where we had started.
I really enjoyed this race. It was different, you got to see the sights of London and I supported my friend to do her 1st Half Marathon. It was well organised with plenty of support and well marshalled.
My highlights has to be the wooden medal in the shape of a leaf, not to mention the goody bag, it was full to the brim with goodies, also the beanbag area where you could chill after the race.
I completed the run in 1hr 45min 38sec which I’m happy with as I found it tough from mile 10 due to a recent calf injury. I’d recommend this race totally.
Report by: Helen Low