The Vitality Westminster Mile last month (27 May 2018) was apparently the biggest ever timed mile event, with a total of 8,048 runners in 39 waves taking part compared to the previous record of 7,664 set at the New York Fifth Avenue Mile last year. It was a pretty diverse crowd, more so even than your average parkrun - maybe runnng a mile is less daunting than 5k.
The race took place on a course around London's St James's Park, starting at approximately the point where the London Marathon ends, and finishing in front of Buckingham Palace.
There were various waves including for parkrunners and Masters, I obviously messed up booking my place online as I ended up in one of the family waves. Still it was started by Mo Farah which was cool enough, and once I'd squeezed past the toddlers and parents I had quite a race against some fast teenagers. Coming back from injury I was way off my PB but 6:11 is still top 40 for age on power of 10 so whatevs.
Running down Birdcage Walk was a strange experience, my previous efforts along there being in the last few hundred metres of the Marathon. I wasn't quite so exhausted, but running flat out for a mile brings a different kind of pain.
A fast and flat enough course with a well organised operation, my only criticism was that the combination of mass race and major tourist destination in current security climate made it quite difficult for spectators. I really wanted to get to Birdcage Walk to cheer on some of my clubmates in the final stretch, but I ended up in a huge bottleneck of people trying to get in/out of the area in front of Buckingham Palace.
Wandering around Green Park afterwards, who should I see but Seb Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Associations. Maybe not somebody I would always see eye to eye with politically, but nobody can deny that he cares about the sport and obviously he is a running legend.
After commenting on my Kent AC vest ('great old club') we had a brief chat about the previous week's Night of 10,000m PBs at Highgate, which we had both attended. Always a good night out, this year featured the added excitement of clubmate Alex Yee winning the British 10,000m Champs, cheered on by a Kent AC contingent on the final bend chanting 'Yee, Yee, Yee'.
Up on Parliament Hill I had a go at running round the cross country course, famed for its cold muddy challenge during National and Southern champs. It was much easier going on a sunny afternoon, but I got very lost in the woods and ended up, as you do on Hampstead Heath, next to some random pond or other.
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| Women's A Race at Night of 10,000m PBs |
