Sport Relief Half Marathon
Gary and the Sikhs in the City take on the Sport Relief Half Marathon
Name: Gary Singh
Age: 28
Occupation: Property & Hotels (Sales, Lettings & Management)
Website/blog link: @GarySingh_
Event: Running the Half Marathon+ For Sport Relief with Sikhs in the City (Sunday 25th March 8:45am)
Distance: 14 Miles
Race time: 2 Hours 0Mins
Charity: Sport Relief (Ability Bow for the London Marathon 2012)
How long have you been running? All my life whilst playing football, but in terms of running on the street, only 1 year, my first race was British London 10k in July 2011 and now I’m running the London Marathon 2012 for Ability Bow.
What made you decide to sign up for this race? I just joined Sikhs in the City running club and 1 month till London Marathon.
What were your high and low points during the race, if any? The first 3 /4 Miles always feel the hardest for me, but I block out the distance and concentrate on whats around me and think of other things
What was the best part of the course for you? Best parts for me is the last mile and knowing that it wasn’t that bad and I did not get my usual calf cramp, this was my 3rd ever half marathon.
What was the most challenging part of the course for you? 11 Hills, so it is a tough course and great to practise on, it is 2km, once round and consists of start/ Finish at junction of Woodford Bridge Road and Roding Lane South, run towards Woodford Ave where we turn left down to and left again into Roding Lane South and bacl to the junction with Woodford Bridge Road, each lap is 2012 metres. So can be repetitive, but a few local running clubs like to test themselves here also as its a great training run.
How would you describe the crowd support? O2 Run to the Beat Half Marathon, last 100 yards and the crowd was shouting and cheering you on, I would not stop even though I wanted to! While the run this Sunday there was no real crowd support, only a few runners who finished.
What was the male/female ratio roughly in the race? 60/40
Did you see many people running in costume, and if so what
was the best costume? None.
What’s your overall verdict of the race? Please give marks out
of ten for the following categories:
Organisation: 10/10
Scenery: 6/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Would you do it again next year? Yes.
What one tip or piece of information would you like to pass on
to anyone thinking of doing this race for the first time? Make use of the fact you run laps around a circuit on roads as you can leave your items gels in a bag at the start/ finish point as you go round everytime, so you can run very light. Not carrying a convenience store of gels around your waist!
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