I arrive at Green Park station and the atmosphere is slowly building like a classical band, a few taps of a percussion tambourine while the brass band and the organs are getting ready to let out a huge performance.
It is July 9th 2017 and I am at my sixth British 10k in a row. My letter before the 501 on my race number has the letter B, informing me which of the pens that I will be in. The pens were brought in for this race in the 2016 edition, a very welcome addition that had proven instantly successful and alleviated some of the controversy that this race had attracted.
My wife Leigh was with me again this year, but in pen F further back. Leigh is not a runner, but always rocks up to do this event as a charity fundraiser for the hospital our children were born at. We have not had to pay official entrance fee, but a deposit which equates to roughly the same price. I have heard this race is around £40-£50 entry fee, which if true is very expensive for a 10k and if totally honest I have actually done better 10k's for considerably cheaper than this.
I left the Avery fan club of my two boys, my Dad Gerry and Uncle Tony in Green Park and made a slow walk down to pen B. As I walked down, passing all of the other pens, I noticed the occupants in each were getting smaller and smaller. I showed the marshal my number and like Willy Wonka's golden ticket, I was allowed in the chocolate factory of pen B with the very few other members of the tour.
The pre-race briefing was very informative and if you were a first time entrant everything you needed to know was here. I did feel though there may have been a slight piece of PR with it as I had lost count the amount of times we were told to "use the hashtag #British10k when tweeting your pictures!" If the #British10k was a game where they'd give you a piece of chocolate every time it was mentioned, I'd end up as large as Augustus Gloop.
My fellow B pen friends made our way to the start line and under a shower of confetti we were under way! We hurtled our way down past all the C, D and E runners who were politely giving us rounds of applauses and cheers. We ran past Green Park station, past the Ritz and made our way down towards Piccadilly.
I always set off on these races faster than I can maintain, I like to think it's my way of getting the tough miles out of the way first, but really I'm acting like a big kid and it's the adrenaline. We made our to the front of the Piccadilly lights, which unfortunately today were boarded up, and ran up Regent Street.
Running past a South London street band was brilliant and for a few seconds drowned out my legs which were screaming at me to slow down. After a very slight gradient which at my pace felt like Ben Nevis, we made our way to the top of Regent Street performed a U-Turn and bombed back down back towards Piccadilly and before you could say Ripley's Believe it or not! I had recorded a sub 6 min mile and was on course to do another.
After leaving Piccadilly, we made our way back towards Trafalgar Square where there was a cracking live band playing. Some huge cheers as we went past and I could feel the energy back in my legs. Past the National Portrait Gallery, past the Carrick Theatre and it was then we saw a huge "you're halfway there!" sign which filled me with delight. I had hit the halfway mark well under the 20 min mark and was on track for my second consecutive sub 40 British 10k finish.
Along the Strand and round the back of Waterloo Bridge was next before we headed down a cobbled and very welcome downhill and on to the Embankment for the final part of the race. Today was a hot day and the trees along the Embankment and buildings were providing us with wonderful and thoroughly craved shading. "This is where the countdown begins!" The sign read just after 7km, "what a stupid place to have a sign!" I thought, but then I remembered that all runners only really start counting down a 10k race once they've hit thay magic and famous 7.14356421km mark.
Making our way to the end of the Embankment, I knew that was on course for my sub 40 run. A left turn and over Westminster Bridge, where you hit the second to last U-Turn before you start making your way past the Houses of Parliament. Luckily, as I got half way across on the way back, I saw the 40 min pacer so this boosted my energy even more.
More cheering, screaming and delight from the crowd as we did our final loop and made our way towards the finish line. The Centopath flashed past me.Downing Street was a blur. I was staring at that ticking timer above the orange and yellow finish line which was slowly ticking towards 40, I knew I'd nailed it but didn't think it was a PB so reigned it in slightly. Crossing the finish line, I paused my GPS and went to get my goody bag and my medal. 39:44 - happy with that! A few sweaty cuddles from the marshals and volunteers, several high fives too and I decided to have a slow plod around and soak in the atmosphere.
A few minutes later the pacing legend Paul Addicott joined the post-race party and informed me that he finished the race in 44:40. A great effort and I'm sure that there are plenty of people who once again achieved their impossible PB by running with Paul. I remember hearing a shout out over the PA system to the pacers and as I've said before pacers are the unsung heroes of long distance running.
Conclusion: a race that has sorted out some of its teething problems. Still expensive for what it is and not necessarily the most unique running event in London, but thoroughly enjoyable nevertheless. Maybe Darren "RunnersKnees" Smith may think of a British 10k comeback?.....