LifeArcade!

A day at the races, without a horse or jockey in sight. Actually that is a lie. There were a few scattered around – the only difference between this and Royal Ascot is that the jockey’s were doing all the work; inside the horses. Some people call these events ‘fun runs’. Whoever coined that phrase is a sick human being. Do not get me wrong, I know this is not a marathon, but it certainly felt like one to this beer drinking, smoking gymaphobe. I spend most of my time in front of a computer screen for goodness sake.

Despite arriving late to the biggest 10km run in the country I was not turned away and made my way to the start, joining the back of the queue. When I say back of the queue I literally mean ‘back of the queue’! By the time the race began and over half the runners taking part ran past me on the other side, I was surrounded by no more than 30 stragglers, all wondering why they did not just take a diversion to the nearest pub. Slowly but surely we arrived at the start line, just as some of the professional athletes would have been finishing – that thought still staggers me.

Knowing that I had the best part of 24,999 people to overtake, I sped through the first kilometre. When I say sped, what I really mean is I struggled up a slight incline whilst being overtaken by pensioners and people dressed as bananas. Of course once I was going downhill they were all left in my dust and I even had time to pose for my mum and brother as they looked on in admiration. As I entered the second and third stages of the run, I jogged past Trafalgar Square and down on to the Embankment, both looking glorious in the gathering morning sun. Still having not resorted to walking and avoiding crossing pedestrians, I ventured along the Thames up to Blackfriars Bridge. The sun and the heat were already beginning to take their toll on some of the runners as the water stations were still in the horizon. I began to notice people who had started ahead of me and my confidence grew, my target time of one hour was back in my mind and I was going to do it. That was until I actually arrived at the water station. Instead of jogging by and grabbing a bottle as per the usual, I had to wait in a scrum as the bottles were forcibly ripped from the plastic by volunteers and runners alike. Terrifying. Luckily I managed to retrieve one and I was on my way once more.

A great part of these runs is the crowd. It does not matter if you are running for their charity or not, they will support you and give you encouragement as you go round the course. Though I must say I was not fond of the ‘find your feet’ signs. The crowds support and the metal in my ipod were not enough for me however. As I entered the Blackfriars Underpass and the four kilometre stage I had to slow down and take a walk. The coolness of the shade and what was left of my water was a welcome rest bite from the ever increasing heat. But I knew I could not keep this up. I had to run again. It was like something out of a sports drama as I took a deep breath and burst out into the blazing sun – and into the queue for the toilets. After about 40 seconds I realised this was a waste of time as the queue was not moving. I thought to myself that the filling of my bladder could spur me on to the finish in record time. I powered on, back under the bypass and the bridge and back along the Thames. Five kilometres down – halfway there.

Running along the Thames with Parliament in the distance and the South Bank and London Eye on the other side was a highlight of the run, as it was the last time I did it in 2009. The wind was blowing and I felt as though I was going to get a second wind. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing straight towards me, slowing us all down. And instead of cooling us from the sun, it was spreading the rays all over us. I must have looked like a six foot beetroot by the end. Once again there was more jostling for water, with me having to resort to getting one from the helpful hand of a football rival. I think he was as shocked as I was. I did not let this shock distract me though. I was heading towards the last few kilometres, in which I was having a rather compelling race between Syrian protestors, Tibet Protestors, Egyptians and the army. I cannot remember how this particular battle ended, but I like to think I was on the winning side. After all, I was not carrying flags or heavy bags.

Westminster Bridge was in sight. And what a sight it was. Knowing that there was only two kilometres to go I refused to stop and kept jogging right to the end. Seeing my first casualty being looked after by St. John Ambulance only spurred me on, mainly to get away from the ambulance, but because I was starting to get lightheaded and needed more fluids – most of my last bottle of water went towards showering myself. Leaving the bridge I turned into Parliament Square, with Bill Bailey’s song 'Midnight in Parliament Square' going through my head as I passed the war protestor camp site. To my right was the finish – it looked glorious, and so close. Yet these things always find a way of biting you in the nether regions. Myself and the rest of the runners are first directed left, away from the finish, to be faced with an almightily frustrating u-turn. But while this is an annoyance, when you finally start running back towards the finish and turn into Whitehall, with the finish in site past the Cenotaph, the feeling is spectacular.

That last 100 metres I pulled it all out of the bag and sprinted to the finish line. Runner after runner was left in my wake as I sped past the finishing line with a shout of joy and a fist pump of relief. It was over. The headphones came out and I took in the atmosphere of the day. It was a great day for it. The only downer was me being late and not being able to run with my friend. That was very disappointing and my plans to catch up were thwarted by the sheer number of people and time it took to actually start the race. A catch up and a drink in Kings Cross was a nice way to end the day though. Once I had found my family after an hour at the finish.

A great day, a great experience, and all for a very good cause.

William Evans - 1:11:39

I was running for the Do It For Don Fund. For more information and to donate, please go to www.doit4don.com