Bupa London 10,000

It was a perfect bank holiday. Warm sunshine and the chance to take in the best sights that London has to offer, courtesy of the Bupa London 10,000. The 12,000 strong race boasted an impressive line up, with Paula Radcliffe billed as the favourite, only for her to finish third behind Jo Pavey, who came first, and runner up Gemma Steel. The Women’s Running team were excited and should have been raring to go. But it was not to be. WR deputy editor Claire Chamberlain, who had admittedly ‘done very little running’ since completing the Brighton Marathon in April, had spent the previous week celebrating her 30th birthday with several obligatory glasses of wine. WR editor Christina Macdonald had managed to maintain her running training but had spent a sleepless weekend stressing about her forthcoming house move and whether the purchase of her ‘dream home’ would eventually turn into a nightmare. With eye bags like suitcases, bleary Chris struggled round, intending to make her move for a PB in the last 5K but not picking up the pace sufficiently. Meanwhile, Claire admitted to feeling ‘knackered’ during much of the race. But all was not lost. The Bupa London 10,000 offered fantastic views through the heart of London, including Parliament Square, Embankment, Cannon Street and Leadenhall Market. And the pair were treated to a massage in the Bupa Boost Zone at the end, with Claire craftily extending the length of her massage by chatting non-stop to the massage therapist about the many benefits of running!PB or not, let’s not forget that the appeal of taking part in a race is the chance to soak up the atmosphere and collect another medal. Plus there’s the excuse to eat what you want afterwards because you’ve ‘burned it off’ and ‘earned it’. True to form, the pair headed for the nearest pub aftewards where they happily devoured fish and chips.Read the full race review in the August issue of Women’s Running, on sale on 30th June 2011.