Yesterday was a big day for me. I took part in my first ever race. I have done a few Park Runs, but never participated in something that was officially a race, with winners and medals and all that jazz. So when I was invited to take part in the first ever ASICS LDNX event, I thought, why not. There was only one problem, I only really had 5k experience. I have done a couple of 10ks before, but that was about it, literally 2. One earlier this year, and one a few years ago. I just never manage to find the time!
But this was a wonderful opportunity. To take part in an inaugural event, running around Wembley Stadium and be part of 1000s of runners. I believe the official total number was 12000!
So yes, I signed up and I was very kindly offered a code by the team managing the event, which helped motivate me.
Information provided
There was a stream of information provided over the next few months as the event got closer. The route was announced. Then there was a more detailed plan. There was the starting waves. There was also the fact that my official chip will be on my way.
This triggered a mild panic for me. It was supposed to arrive via mail but our local mail service has never been the same since Covid. Sometimes mail arrives weeks late. However, there was an option to pick up your number/name/chip a day before from London. While it would have been a faff, at least the option existed, which gave me some peace of mind.
Luckily, the pack arrived 2 weeks before the event, and all I needed now was some safety pins to attach it to the whichever top I was going to wear.
Getting there on the day
Not surprisingly, of the 4 waves that were going to be running, I was in the slowest category, which was orange. My last 10k was around 1 hour and 10 minutes, so that’s what I had put in.
However, even this wave was supposed to bunch up around 8.45am, for a 9.30am start. This meant a fairly early trip to London (Wembley) was required. A while ago, there used to be a train from Oxford that would take you straight to Wembley Park station. That doesn’t exist any more (*angry fist gif*). Exploring other options, I could either take the train into central London and then commute out to Wembley, which would have been quite painful, and I wasn’t sure such an early train would exist. Or take the wonderful 24 hour bus service that is the Oxford Tube, get off somewhere like Hillingdon, and then do the 45 odd minute commute to Wembley Park. This required me to be on the bus before 5.30am to be around Wembley Park for 8. Not ideal.
So I had to drive. Luckily, JustPark offer plenty of options around the area, and I was aware that there may be some road closures, so I chose something about half a mile away from the start line, so it would be easy to approach. I still left around half six, so an early start, but I got to where I was parking my car just after half 7 (a pub), and once somebody had let me (and a couple of other racers) in to put my car details into their system, I was on my way to Olympic Way, which is where we were supposed to start the race.
The vibe
Currently Wembley stadium is all about Coldplay. There had been a concert the night before, and somehow you could still feel it in the air. In fact, there were some toilets that were just being removed as I was walking which were supposed to be for the concert goers.
But the current vibe was not for Cold Play. It was for the race that was ahead of us. Lots and lots of people, all in their racing gear, or friends and family around to support. Some excitement. Some nervous energy. Lots of music. Positive vibes.
You can see some of the atmosphere in the posts from their official Instagram account below:
Starting
At the start, we were all partitioned into our waves, and slowly the waves were passed to the start line. Since we were in a multistorey car park (or perhaps under some sort of a bridge?), there wasn’t much GPS signal to start with. However, most fitness devices can track steps, so while the run may not be a 100% accurately tracked, you should still get decent data.
One by one, the 3 waves before us parted and started their race, till it was our turn. We slowly made our way past one of the many DJs dotted around the race, till we got close to the start line where we were encouraged to get on our way!
The race
Soon we were out in the open, and gosh was it a gloriously sunny day outside! Moreover, we could actually see some of the runners from the earlier waves going past us. I had no idea how many km they were in, but considering they left around half an hour before us and were the faster people, it could have been anywhere between 6 to 10k! Obviously, later on, I was among them.
Each km was marked, and there was plenty of encouragement from the organisers along the way. A lot of people had friends and family, but not sure if there was many others who had turned up, apart from maybe the people in the area.
At 2km, we were running up and down one of the car parks, and there was this atmospheric area with a lot of sound and lights, mixed with a smoke machine. On a personal level, it felt a bit too intense and I did not enjoy that.
As we ran on, we hit 3k and then 4k and then 5. There were a few uphill and downhill bits, but nothing too steep, which I was grateful for. Along the way, there was a couple of drumming bands, some more DJs and plenty of encouragement from the staff.
Just before the 7th km marker, there was water available, which I was very grateful for. In fact, I think I still had that water bottle with me when I crossed the finish line.
As we got closer to the finish, we ran again through the area where we had started, and also the bit where we saw the other runners! I was getting closer, and while I struggle when it is super sunny and hot, I was managing. Being London, there were plenty of tall buildings to provide shade in places, which really helped.
My favourite bits were the high fives or the organisers just looking at our names on our shirts and shouting encouraging remarks.
I even managed to smile for the cameras!
As I went on, I could finally see the finish line, and then I crossed it. Annoyingly my watch miscalculated the distance, probably due to the bits with the bad GPS signal, and it being an Apple watch (*another angry shaking fist gif*), but hey ho. I got my official time text within the next hour, and I had crossed the line in 1 hour, 2 minutes, and 43 seconds. My fastest ever 10k. Well pleased with that!
After the finish line
After the finish line, we were all handed our medals, and told that if we had signed up for the personalised medals, they’d be sent to us. There was some water being handed out.
I somehow missed the vitamin water, as well as the ASICS bag as they had run out, but hey ho.
But this is where there was a lot of positive energy, great vibes, and everyone was feeling awesome! Really nice to see and really made the very early start totally worth it.
Gig for the winners
As part of the event, there was an Oasis tribute band (Oasiz!) playing at Box Park, a few yards down from the finish line. This was a wonderful venue, with a bar, lots of food options as well as obviously the music being played. It was great to enjoy the music, though obviously not if you were in the mood for a chat with your pals as it was too loud for that.
Official photos
A day after, I was sent a link to get my photos from the event. To do so, I had to let the website take a selfie, and it magically found a lot of my photos dotted across the race, with the time of the day tagged so I could assess where I was.
The photos are currently only available in a resolution good enough for social media (see the Instagram post above), but the high resolution version will follow.
Lots of awesome photos from the event themselves are also present.
The aftermath
It is more than 36 hours since I ran the race, and I am still buzzing from it. I know that it wasn’t a marathon, or even a half, but it was my first race and the atmosphere and the organisation made it totally worth it. I have my very first medal, and I hope that it is the first of many.
More information
More information on the LDNX race, as well as the chance to sign up for the next year, as well as details of the route, pictures, and much more, are all available on the LDNX website.