Bupa London 10K 2015

Monday saw us take part in another Bupa London 10K run. The two of us and our friend Alex have taken part in this yearly event every year since 2011. The only problem this year was the fact that none of us had done any training at all this time!

As ever, due to its early start, we were up nice and early Monday morning and by the time 7:30am clocked around we’d had our porridge and were heading out of the door to get to Reading station.

Originally there was supposed to be a train strike on Monday but thankfully that was called off – phew! We’d come up with a back-up plan if it had gone ahead but I think we were both grateful of the fact that it wasn’t as it meant a quick 30 minute train ride to Paddington. After that we had our customary walk from Paddington to Green Park (to stretch our legs) to meet up with Alex.

We all got ourselves ready in the runner’s enclosure and it wasn’t long before we made our way to the start line ready for the off. It’s always amazing to see so many people huddled together, ready to start.

It seemed to take an absolute age to get the starting waves off and running; longer than we remembered from last year at least. This may have had something to do with the course change for this year as the start narrower than previous years, especially the bit getting across Trafalgar Square onto the Strand.

As far as the course goes, it was narrower than previous years but it was flatter – always a good thing! As far as interest goes it was pretty boring. No Embankment to run along. No Leadenhall Market to run through. The only things that stood out on the new course route were St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Royal Courts of Justice, and that’s about it.

Looking at the official course guide it made it sound like there would be lots of things to look at and keep you interested along the way but to be honest, it really only felt like a long procession of shops and glass-fronted offices. Okay, there were a few watering holes we’ve been in in the past but nothing much else to write home about.

Added to the lack of interesting things to look at was the weather. We’re not sure what it is about the day the Bupa London 10K is run but it always (touch wood) seems to turn out to be a good day, normally hotter than was forecast. Monday was no different. Yes, when the sun went behind the clouds it cooled down a bit but for the penultimate one to two kilometres it was ridiculously hot! Not what you need when your energy levels are almost at zero!

We all made it over the line though which was the main aim of the day. And, having completed the course we promptly headed to Wagamamas for our victory meal – a tradition for the Bupa London 10K race day!

Unfortunately the afternoon was cut short as Shelli had to be at work for 4pm 🙁

All in all though not a bad day and another medal to add to our collections! Best get ourselves signed up for next year I suppose?!

Race Results

Below are our results (taken from the official Bupa London 10K results page) for each year we’ve completed the race.

Darren

Shelli

Alex

Photos

Route Details

If you’re interested you can download the KML file and/or GPX file of the plotted route. Please be aware though that the route was hand-plotted and so may not be 100% accurate.

Route Map

Elevation Details

More information about climb ratings can be found at Map My Walk.

London