Regents Park to Olympic Park run commute

On Thursday I completed one of the runs that has been on my to do list for a couple of years.

My plan this week was to try and get a long midweek run in as I am running Bacchus Half Marathon on Sunday, so without too much planning I stumbled upon the idea of running part of the way home along the Regents Canal.

I make out that it's a kind of run commute but that's a bit misleading as it is far from getting me home and it's a route that is far from direct in heading towards home. 

In reality it's almost two hours of running that replaces a 20 minute tube journey and one stop on the train so hardly a practical run commute.

My run started with leaving work and heading through a leafy and sunny Regents Park. Emerging on the north side of the park by Primrose Hill I joined the canal towpath for the first time.

The initial route of the canal heads to the vibrant Camden lock area before passing through some less than salubrious backstreet areas of Kentish Town and Kings Cross.

I was some what taken aback at the large volume of traffic on the towpath through this section, walkers making their way home, many runners and speed demon cyclists all vying for a place on an often narrow pathway.

The kings cross area took my route along several wooden pathway structures sitting directly over the water, these were so rickety and noises to run on and not very pleasant.

In the Angel area the canal disappears under a long tunnel which doesn't contain a foot path which left me to navigate through the back streets of angel for around a mile before reconvening with the waterway again.  Most of the path was well signed with small brass plaques dope ting the way but I soon lost this trail and managed to find my own route withal it'll help from google maps.

On this next section the canal dissects through the back streets of East London and Hackney before emerging some where near Mile End and Victoria Park. Here I decided to follow the canal into the Limehouse basin as opposed to taking a direct route homewards through the park towards West Ham and Stratford. 

The experience of running along the canal was a very pleasant one, I felt a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of Central London. Tubes, trains, buses and cars were no where to be seen, it was indeed a more tranquil way to get through London. The word I kept reflecting on was 'mellow' as that seemed to be the mood along the canal, a more relaxed pace of life, being alongside water certainly seems to calm and relax people while also providing a pleasant open space for recreation activities. 

So although not an efficient run that provided a time saving commute but an incredibly enjoyable run and a great way to see London from a different angle. 

Here is a link of the route I took as well as some links to more information on the Regents canal towpath:

https://www.strava.com/activities/388619511

http://lndn.blogspot.co.uk/2005_05_01_lndn_archive.html?m=1

http://www.runnersguidetolondon.co.uk/regents-canal.html

Hackney Marshes Parkrun 5th birthday celebrations

So this morning I headed off on what is becoming a regular trip to Hackney Marshes Parkrun for a showdown with running buddies Tony and Chris. 

With Tony still fresh from his Asics262 marathon triumph in Paris and Chris coming off the back of two sub4 marathons in three weeks I knew it would be a tough challenge to keep up with these two. A speed work session with Tony on Thursday morning over at the Regents Park running track where Tony left me behind while he had plenty more speed than me left in the tank had me wondering if I was going to compete with him today.

The reason for a running meet up this particular weekend was to help celebrate Hackney Marshes parkruns 5th birthday celebrations. And we weren't the only ones making the journey over for the celebrations as we joined a field of 176 runners. 

This was my third visit to Hackney Marshes and I must say its a great little setup, a super flat speedy Tarmac course, a nice green tree flanked route and a friendly mix of runners of all abilities, so I was pleased to join them for the celebrations.

An enjoyable part of the experience is my journey to Hackney marshes, although the train journey is quieter than a work day that's not the enjoyable part it's the gentle walk through the Olympic Park to the Parkrun start/finish.

So onto the run its self, a large crowd, prizes and awards for deserving regulars and a host of new timers made for an exciting atmosphere at the start. My excitement was heightened though by a bit of celebratory spotting as spied Ronnie the rocket O'Sullivan lining up at the start. I admit I do get pretty stray struck and am not one to pluck up the courage to strike up a chat or ask for a photo. I was pretty amazed when in the opening few hundred metres as I started to battle through some congestion on the course I felt a hand on my shoulder as another runner tried to avoid colliding with me and to look round and see the snooker legend himself sneak past me! Not only is he a speedy snooker ball potter but he's also a speedy runner as he finished in an awesome time of sub19 minutes.

Courtesy of Hackney Marshes parkrun facebook page

But how was my race? I was eager to try and replicate my form from my 21 minute PB a few weeks back but I knew I wasn't quite in the same shape. 

I took the first km or so a bit easier and breezed past Chris at around 1km, Despite our friendly rivalry I was conscious to try and run my own race rather than concentrating on competing. I maintained a faster pace and felt comfortable up to the half way mark which I reckon I clocked in a faster time than during my PB run.

The second half was a struggle as I tried to keep going after going off too quick  it was made harder knowing Chris was on my shoulder and I expected him to ghost past me at any stage. I managed to hold off the threat of Bramster but as we started to head for home I spotted Tony out of the corner of my eye starting to mount an attack in the closing stages. I struggled in the closing minutes, I still need to work on my strength, the finish wasn't helped by my anticipation of the end. Every time the course bent round I kept thinking it was the home straight only to be disappointed no have further to run! I mustered a semi sprint finish in the last 50m or so and crossed the line in 21.29 luckily having enough to hold off my challengers. 

Looking at my splits I was happy to see a decent even pace, the first km is quick though (if you think it would realistically be a good bit quicker due to a delay at the start), so I need to think about starting slower to be able to run faster later on in the race. 

After the race there was a delicious array of cakes for hungry runners to tuck into. 

Although I won the race between the three of us the performance victory goes to Tony with a shiny new PB in the region of 40 seconds! Chris as well worked hard to run strongly but by his own admission is struggling to recover from two sub4 marathons in three weeks and a half marathon PB shortly after. 

Whatever the results and achievements it was another enjoyable Parkrun and aanother day to celebrate why I enjoy running! 

A visit to the Olympic Park

A Saturday afternoon trip out to visit the Orbit sculpture and have a wander around the Olympic Park in Stratford. 

It turned into a very pleasant way to spend a few hours, the orbit is an impressive structure with great views into the City, Canary Wharf and out to the East and the wilds of Essex along the Thames.

I was eager to see what 'legacy' the Olympics had left in the Olympic Park and I must say I was impressed. Walking around the park it is easy to see it is a hub of activity with a vibrant atmosphere.

Runners and cyclists taking advantage of the large areas of traffic free pathway.

An interactive keep fit class you could join in with.

Plenty of interactive activities such a climbing apparatus and a replica of Greg Rutherford's Gold winning long jump leap where you could compare your efforts to this epic leap. It really brought into context the amazing feat and made you appreciate exactly how far 8.31m is. For the record I managed about 2.5m although I reckon in a sand pit without jeans I could get to 3m! Still some way off a gold medal!

Despite having fun I did have two sour notes to the Olympic Park and the legacy of the 2012 Olympics.                                                                                                                  

Firstly all the cafe outlets serving stodgy unhealthy food OK so it wasn't McDonald's fast food style grub but we aren't going to produce Olympic champions on giant chocolate cookies are we?

Secondly on the day we visited there was a biathlon competition taking place as part of Pentathlon GB. While it was great to see so many young teenagers competing the thought did cross my mind, why are they running around a large tarmac area just a few hundred metres from the Olympic stadium? The answer is of course the Olympic Stadium is closed while it is redeveloped into the new home of West Ham United Football Club. While I largely agree with this move the fact there are no other outside athletic provisions at the site is a bit staggering? Surely keeping the Olympic athletic warm up track as some sort of mini athletics venue could have been a good idea?

Anyway Olympic legacy rant over!

With so much activity and exercise going on all around I did feel a bit left out as the only exercise I took part in was a quick jog down the 450+ steps of the orbit.                                                         

After enjoying the views from the orbit and wondering around the park enjoying the atmosphere the only thing left to do was to visit the RUN sculpture on the other side of the park outside the Cooper Box arena. 

An impressive shiny metallic sculpture standing proud looking out over the park it was an essential point for me to visit and photograph and feature in my blog. 

Overall I would highly recommend a visit as an enjoyable way to spend some time in the East of London.