I have always loved running. I started running when I was an early teen but really fell in love with it when I was about 16 years old. I have spent most of my life going through periods of running lots and then having quiet periods where I do no running at all. But last year, when I decided to spend 2023 focusing on my health and wellbeing as a priority, I decided to focus on running as an actual past time and a hobby. I had only ever really used running as a tick box exercise at the gym – I would run for 30 minutes and that was it. I never really looked at how far I went or how fast I was and I didn’t really get into how it really felt to run. But last year I did start to focus on running and decided to book myself an actual race. I wanted to challenge myself to actually run in something with a (granted very thin) degree of competitiveness just to see how I would perform.
I had always used running as a very solitary thing and to a certain degree I still do. I run for me and my only competition is myself. I am not overly bothered about how fast I go, so long as I do not stop. I did the Asics 10k race about 10 years ago and had always remembered it as a really lovely atmosphere. But 10 years ago, I did it as a last minute charity place and did next to zero training for it. I think then my max distance had been about 4km and I remember walking a large majority of the race. But this year, I decided to try it properly. I booked a place just as an individual and used my half marathon training as my plan for this race.
It was fantastic! They shut the roads of London and I still stand by the fact that London is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The actual course takes you through all of the main sights, starting at Marble Arch, up through Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square, down the Strand and along Westminster Bridge before finishing just past the Houses of Parliament. It was so fun to actually see all of the sights without any of the usual London crowds. But the crowds that were around were also fantastic, cheering and shouting encouragement throughout the entire course. Families, friends, charities – even a few tourists seemed to get swept up in the excitement of the day and the fun of the entire event. I think it was all of this encouragement and just the absolute buzzing energy around the course that helped me hit a personal best for the 10km!
But the main thing I loved was seeing just how diverse the running community is and just how supportive it all is. I saw all manner of people: old, young, fit, unfit, big, little. All of them running their own race. And when people finished they would even cheer the rest of us on from the side-lines, flashing their medal as encouragement for us to finish and giving us all much needed motivation to keep pushing. There were so many people as well that I passed while running that were shouting encouragement to everyone around them and helping to keep the crowd laughing and smiling. It was just such a wonderful atmosphere to be in. According to the presenters that were commentating on the race throughout the event, there were 18,000 runners this year which is just amazing to think about!
There are many times where I can get very caught up on the fact that I am not the fastest runner, or the most photogenic runner (I seem to go bright red at 1km and just remain that way even though it’s not a hard run) or even really look like a runner. But being in this crowd and seeing the wide array of bodies and characters that were taking part in the event was incredibly wholesome and very inspiring. We were all running the race for various reasons, but it felt very much that we were all there just to run and to really soak up the entire atmosphere of the day.
I love the feeling of running. I love feeling my body truly move and while there are definitely times that every single steps feels like a marathon, I have never regretted a run. I also find that I am constantly surprising myself in what my body can actually achieve. Even with this race, I got to 9km and developed a pretty major stitch in my side, and yet I saw that finish line and found myself sprinting to that finish line with not a single ache or pain. And I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t even think about sprinting to the finish until I was already doing it and I truly felt like I flew through that finish line. And when I got that medal I felt unstoppable. Little me, with my tiny feet and absolute zero understanding of cadence or splints, finished the race in a personal best.
If you have ever debating signing up for a local race (or even one note local – road trip!) I would highly encourage you to do so. I have found the running community to be so welcoming and so supportive and this race really just affirmed for me that this is something I want to keep up for as long as I am physically able to. My aim is to be like these amazing veteran runners, who are 90 years old and still hitting that asphalt like it’s any other day.
Taylor Talks Vegan 