Running without Scissors

I felt a little like a bull in Pamplona as I took part in the British 10K London Run last Sunday. With 25,000 participants, the running was pretty much incidental to the event. It felt more like a street party than a race, with live music, DJs, balloons, a brass band, banners, and bystanders lining the entire route. While there were a handful of elite athletes present (recognizable by their sleek Nike-sponsored gear and absence of body fat),  there was surprisingly little of the usual sharky, testosterone-fueled competitiveness that saturate most sporting events. It was all good, in spite of the cold rain and icy gusts of wind pounding down on us that morning.

I saw grannies, very old men, mothers and daughters, dads with prams, couples, and groups of friends in varying states of fitness join the race, cheerily huffing and puffing their way past each other. The Chef, viewing the spectacle from Big Ben, even saw a one-legged man hobble past. There were several costumed runners, including a few guys who ran the race dressed as trannies (minus the stilettos), a rhinoceros, a fuzzy sunflower, Spiderman, and a few Hulks. And why wasn't Jollibee in the race, representing?? Lazy son of a bee!

Most ran on behalf of charities or obscure causes (i.e. Save the Rhinoceros Fund, Children's Society), which made for interesting shirt browsing during the race. In spite of 9.35am being the official start time, I only managed to get past the start line at 10.00, having waited for the first 10,000 participants to inch their way toward the start before me. 

I found the first 3Ks tiring, but eventually paced myself with a pair of middle aged men wearing matching purple 'Pancreatic Cancer UK' shirts all the way to the finish (1 hour, 5 mins). Thanks, guys. 

Incidentally, Turner Prize winner Martin Creed has launched (or should I say released?) a live exhibit at the Tate Britain called Work No. 850. Turns out 850 is a person who runs up and down the Tate grounds at full speed, all day, every day.  Explains the artist:

'Running is the opposite of being still. If you think about death as being completely still and movement as a sign of life, then the fastest movement possible is the biggest sign of life. So then running fast is the exact opposite of death: it's an example of aliveness.'

Work No. 850 runs for its life until November 16th.

*All photos from the official ASICS British 10k London Run website