After a week of fighting a minor but persistent virus, I was pleased not to have to miss another race – I just about made it back to health for the Nike 10km, or We Own the Night, on Saturday night. It’s a women-only race, aiming, in a terribly-fashionable, share-your-race-outfit sort of way, to reclaim the night for female joggers. The atmosphere is great, with around 10,000 runners, most of whom seemed to take up the offer of a free prosecco afterwards.
With two laps of Victoria Park, I did find the second lap very congested, hitting the tail end of the field – but in a way it actually made it more fun, as instead of thinking “Oh here we go again” I decided to make it into a sort of real-life computer game and play “duck and weave” through runners.
For those aiming for a first 10km I would particularly recommend it as really did seem a very friendly, supportive race given the large size – though obviously you’ll have to wait a year until the next one. And for those chasing a PB – remember, the faster you run, the faster you get the prosecco …
The high point for me, though, was receiving the finishers’ necklace – a lovely touch, this, designed by Alex Monroe and handed out from under an umbrella by heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson. Then hanging out at the bar next to Paula Radcliffe, whom I had seen on the start line, disappearing very quickly away from me … All in all I was pleased, given the state of my health last week and still feeling slightly heavy legged, post-marathon, to do it in 42:55. And yes, the last km was my fastest – had to get to that prosecco. Something I seriously regretted on Sunday morning when I did possibly the slowest not-even-terribly-long run I’ve done in a very long time …
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