Standard Chartered Great City Race
Thursday 14th July 2011, 7.15pmwww.cityrace.co.uk
If you had just robbed a bank and you were sprinting away from the long arm of the law, you’d probably have a job keeping up with many participants of this race. It’s a lot of fun, but it’s fast and furious every step of the way. So how should a middle-aged woman with wobbly bits respond to the pace and the pressure generated by highly competitive young city types? By trying to keep up, of course.When you line up with over 6500 ambitious young lads 20 years your junior it’s really tempting to tell yourself that you’re not that much older than them (not true) and you’re not really getting on a bit (you are). The Standard Chartered Great City Race – a corporate 5K event in the city of London (run by the organisers of the London Marathon – always a good thing), attracts over 400 companies who enter their own team and try and beat their professional rivals. The race takes place in the Square Mile and is intended to raise funds for Seeing Is Believing, a charity aiming to eradicate avoidable blindness. A lot of banks and finance companies took part, but also competing were some other media companies, so what started out as a fun way to bond with workmates and run as a team began to feel increasingly competitive even among the WR/MR team.I lined up with the boys from Men’s Running. As the only girl taking part in our team, I realised that I was probably going to be the slowest. It’s a fact of life than men runner faster than women – I like to remind myself that men have longer legs, bigger hearts and greater lung capacity, as well as fewer fat stores to carry. That said, I’ve got no excuses. I’ve completed a marathon and I exercise most days, so I knew I had to try and live up to expectations and deliver a reasonably fast time. I’m better over longer distances, so my fastest ever 5K time was a year ago in the British Heart Foundation 5K jog where I was paced by a colleague and achieved 27:45. This time, I wanted to try and break 26 minutes.
When the gun went off, the vast crowds surged forward and it became apparent this was going to be a free for all. Young guys who were taller, faster and leaner than me were literally sprinting off at the start line – the pace was incredibly fast from start to finish. The race route covered the best parts of the city – it started in City Road near Moorgate tube and then moved through Barbican, St Paul’s, Bank, London Wall and then back towards Moorgate where it finished in the same spot. Halfway through the race, I noticed that a few keen sprinters had slowed down, and one or two people were walking – having burned themselves out early on. I seemed to be running faster than usual, having been swept away by the sea of speedy runners. The fatigue began to creep in during the last mile, where I began to ease up a bit. When it became apparent that I’d be hitting the finish line in around 25 minutes, I embarked on a mini-sprint. It paid off. I hit the finish line in 24:53 – my best ever 5K-race time. My male colleagues posted very impressive times – with Men’s Running Commercial Director Allan Pattison achieving 21:47, MR photographer Eddie Macdonald securing 22:48 and MR Art Director Pio Blanco finishing in 23:47. Well done to the boys!All of the team secured a personal best, despite feeling tired before the race. I learned two valuable lessons. Firstly, even if you think you’re too tired to run and you won’t enjoy it, once you get started you can still have a good run. Second and most valuable lesson – when you run with others, be it other race participants, friends or workmates, you tend to push yourself harder. I would never have achieved a PB otherwise. Oh and one final thing… those cheese straws in the hospitality tent before the race seemed to have a surprisingly good effect on my energy levels! But no doubt they had a detrimental effect to my waistline, so I wouldn’t recommend them as a pre-race snack!
When the gun went off, the vast crowds surged forward and it became apparent this was going to be a free for all. Young guys who were taller, faster and leaner than me were literally sprinting off at the start line – the pace was incredibly fast from start to finish. The race route covered the best parts of the city – it started in City Road near Moorgate tube and then moved through Barbican, St Paul’s, Bank, London Wall and then back towards Moorgate where it finished in the same spot. Halfway through the race, I noticed that a few keen sprinters had slowed down, and one or two people were walking – having burned themselves out early on. I seemed to be running faster than usual, having been swept away by the sea of speedy runners. The fatigue began to creep in during the last mile, where I began to ease up a bit. When it became apparent that I’d be hitting the finish line in around 25 minutes, I embarked on a mini-sprint. It paid off. I hit the finish line in 24:53 – my best ever 5K-race time. My male colleagues posted very impressive times – with Men’s Running Commercial Director Allan Pattison achieving 21:47, MR photographer Eddie Macdonald securing 22:48 and MR Art Director Pio Blanco finishing in 23:47. Well done to the boys!All of the team secured a personal best, despite feeling tired before the race. I learned two valuable lessons. Firstly, even if you think you’re too tired to run and you won’t enjoy it, once you get started you can still have a good run. Second and most valuable lesson – when you run with others, be it other race participants, friends or workmates, you tend to push yourself harder. I would never have achieved a PB otherwise. Oh and one final thing… those cheese straws in the hospitality tent before the race seemed to have a surprisingly good effect on my energy levels! But no doubt they had a detrimental effect to my waistline, so I wouldn’t recommend them as a pre-race snack!