This year I have decide to spend more time entering ‘minor’ races and the Runthrough Regents Park 10K is the first one in what I hope will be a long series during 2024. I have a list of races I want to attend to and it is a long one, let’s see what completion rate I will manage to reach and if there is going to be some improvement in performance throughout the year. It could make for interesting stats.
Back to the topic of this post, I like Runthrough races and I truly believe they are one of the best running race organisers in the UK. They started in London and have developed a good portfolio of races and now also extended to other parts of the country. I bought their Season Pass this year: not an advertisement or a recommendation, yet. I have only run one race so far, but I like the idea of having the right to go to any of their events and just show up, run and enjoy the atmosphere. Plus have a chipped time and support along the route. Let’s see how many I join during the year, for a recommendation on value vs cost. Running is a cheap hobby, lol… I guess it could be.
I had run races in Regents Park before, even if with different organisers. It is a great park obviously, but I also think it lends itself very well for running. The surface of most paths is more than decent and it has some elevation, but nothing dramatic. As such, it is great for a first time race or as a test for someone just graduating from C25K.
So, since this week I have driven 1h to my target parkrun (Canons Park) just to find out they had just cancelled it because of ice, why not write a report on the 10K I ran last week! Time to dive into the RunThrough Regents Park 10K experience then!
Training ahead of the Regents Park 10K
My last official race was The Big Half in September. It was a wonderful experience and, while performance was mediocre, it did end up going better than I had expected. The story of this year has been a consistent negative trend since the 2023 London Marathon. Ttraining has been spotty at best, with several attempts to get back on track, but we are not there yet. I guess this is one of the reasons why I am trying to hold myself accountable through more ‘little’ races.
I have a spot in the London Landmarks Half in April, so I want to be at least in half decent shape for it.
I have tried a few training apps, including Runna and Coopah, recommended by London Landmarks, but I did not like either of them. So I am back on TrainasOne, which in my humble opinion offers the best balance between adaptive personalisation and flexibility. The drawback with it is that if you don’t stick to it properly, it will never build your volume up and you will continue being mediocre. Which is fair I think… life is not a fairy tale after all. Commitment and consistency are the main ingredient, when it comes to running.
So, I think it is just fair to start the 2024 running series with the humbling truth.
This is my Strava Fitness score over the last 12 months. Fitness score is nothing more than a measure of consistent volume, like TrainingPeaks’ CTL.
Well, now it is out, before running the RT Regents Park 10K I was in the worst shape I had ever been since I have started running. And that included 10Kgs gained over 2023 vs my previous decent baseline.
Let’s see how things progress over the year, I did not get to the start line expecting a good performance and I did not get one. It was hard and slow, but probably a little less slow than I expected.
Early gains are easy gains, I guess.
Back to the 10K now!
Travel and Start Area
The RT Regents Park 10K starts North-East and takes place in the North side of Regents Park, one of London great Royal Parks. It is as central as it gets and options for public transport are plentiful.
The closest tube station is probably Baker Street, which you can reach with the Bakerloo, Circlue, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines. Listing what doesn’t get you there would probably be faster. Once you get out of the station, turn left until you reach York Gate, turn left again and enter the park. Keep going straight up to the ‘Inner Circle’ and go right once you cross the road that exits it going East (Chester Road). You will soon get to another get that lets you get into the NE section of the park and you will see the organisers village 100m to your right.
If driving is more convenient, getting into (very) Central London by car early mornings on Sunday is actually possible without giving a kidney to loan sharks to pay for the congestion charge. I think payment starts being due again around midday, so plenty of time to run, chill around a bit and leave. Traffic is also manageable on the way there. It won’t be pleasant when it is time to leave, most likely.
Once you get into the park proper from the Chester Rd gate, you are in a beautiful tree-lined avenue. To the left, there are large open fields where the event village, and the start/finish lines are. On RT events, you will have to go pick up your bib and chip at one of the available tents and can also check out some (decent) merchandise. If you need toilets, for this event they are by the small cafe near the Chester Rd gate and you need to pay to get in. I think it was 20p, but I might be wrong.
One thing RunThrough races offer than not many other organisers do is a fun group warm up before starting, if you are into that. I’m not, but it is still pretty cool for the general vibe it creates. In the past they also had music for it at many events, there was none on the day I joined them for the Regents Park 10K.
This event hosted both 5K and 10K. When it is time to go, people are called and asked to line up together, according to expected finish time. It is not a mass start, more like a slow flow of people snaking towards the arch over 10 minutes. I like starting at the back, because even if I am a snail, it still gives me a chance to overtake someone :).
Regents Park 10K: the Course
The event is at the North section of Regents Park, one of the Royal Parks sitting bang in central London. The little triangle that is avoided from the top side in the map below is where the lions live. You can go there for a run as well, but you risk being eaten… or paying a fortune to get in and see miserable animals out of their natural habitat.
A Relive route plot can be found below and on my YouTube channel as a Short. The full video highlights are also available on the channel and embedded in the next section of this post.
The 10K is essentiall all run on tarmac. It is a combination of narrow paths and wide, majestic avenues. More of the former than the latter, but you rarely feel crammed up too close to other runners. Numbers were fairly high for a casual race, but after the little choke point at the start and along the first few 100 metres, the run was always comfortable.
In terms of route layout, it is certainly not boring or repetitive. It is 2 laps made up of a semi out-and-back on the right side before moving on to the left side for an irregular loop that reminds a scribble made by a bored teenager during a geology lecture.
In terms of elevation, at 64m over 10K, it is essentially flat.
However, if you look at the elevation plat here on the left, it definitely does not look flat. This is in part because Strava is dumb and it tends to err on the dramatic side when picking a scale for its charts. And in part because it is indeed mildly undulating.
That said, the undulation is always very mild: there isn’t many major hill you mind find scary or decide to walk. Unless you are tired and want to find an excuse to walk a bit, which is fine, I won’t tell anyone.
Royal Parks have a pretty nice map of Regents Park on the website, so looking at it might be useful when describing the route.
As said above, the event village, start line and finish line are all in the large fields North of Chester Road, which apparently are called Cumberland Green. When it’s time to go, people are asked to line up by expected finish time on a narrow path cutting the fields diagonally W to E from the South. You slowly walking towards the start line, but no sweat, this is a chipped race, so your time will only start after you step on the mats. Once you reach the arch, it is time to go and you will keep going diagonally for a little while, until you reach the edge, turn sharp left and back up to the opposite site of the Green and turn right to run along its side bearing North. It can be busy during this initial sections, but you will also have plenty of support from the volunteers staffing the water station that will welcome everyone just after half way.
Once you finish the straight alongside the Green, you briefly hop back onte the ceremonial avenue (the Broad Walk) and run 1/3 of the circle around the funnily named Ready Money Drinking Fountain before turning right to descend towards Gloucester Gate. This is a fun descent: a large well maintained path giving a 1/200 metres chance for easy running. Once at the back, it is time to turn sharp left again and cut back towards the Broad Walk running a mild positive elevation. Once you reach the wide Avenue, you turn right and head towards a turnaround spot less than 100m North. There a volunteer will show the way: 360 degrees turn around a cone to start running the Walk in the opposite direction nearly all the way to Chester Rd. If it is a nice day, this can be a majestic section… if it is January, it is still ok.
Not long before the cafe with the toilets I recommended before the start, it is time to turn right and climb a tiny tiny hill to enter the area of the ‘Sport Pitches’. This section is not under tree cover and as the number suggests, it is open meadows. Soon after, time to turn sharp right and start going North alongside the pitches on an undulating path that ends on a slightly steeper hill at the end, before another sharp turn, left this time. Resist the temptation to cut through for a shorter route, there will be plenty of options here that might be tempting during the second lap! 🙂 Peer pressure helps.
Then it is time to run the mild descent alongside the North edge of the Sport Pitches and all running alongside the zoo. If you hear animals, you are not hallucinating… or you probably aren’t, unless it is lap 2.
At the end of this straight, you will reach the ‘Outer Circle’, the large road open to cars. You don’t step on it though, you turn sharp left on a path heading South going alongside some rugby pitches where on the day of the race there were plenty of youth teams training. Soon it will be time to turn right again and head towards the Winter Garden: nice area here, with landscaped patches on both sides of the path and a little bridge over some water that probably feeds into the Boating Lake.
After the short exploration of the Winter Garden, another nearly 360-degrees turn back towards home base. It is a bit undulating again here, but nothing to write home about. At the end of this straight, just before turning 90-degrees right, you will have a chance for a nice view of the BT Tower. Then you turn right, reach a small ‘square-type’ area and turn left again to get a gentle climb again along the Boating Lake. Pretty views again, which would probably gain a few marks in a slightly less grey day.
At the end of the Lake and Wetland area, it is time to turn right again and go sharp down towards the Broad Walk. Enjoy the descent!
Once on the Broad Walk, go South briefly and then turn left to re-enter the area where the Event Village is. Keep right on the path during your first lap and you will run on the mats again (split time provided) and start the second lap. No change in routing.
Once you reach the end of the second lap, it will be time to turn left where you went straight before and a few metres in front you will see the finish arch for a very satisfying arrival.
A medal will be waiting for you and then some food and water to replenish your energy. RunThrough used to offer big, fun, themed medals in the past; it seems this year they have decided to go for more minimalistic ones with a similar design across the events. They work as well, just less distinctive.
You made it! Enjoy a chat with the other friendly runners and the rest of your day now.
Facilities
Small events can often still seem genuine and friendly gatherings of amateur runners without many of the bells and whistles of mass participation events. There is room for both and both are great. That said, there is organisation involved in making sure even just a couple of 100s runners can show up and effortlessly enjoy their distance. And issues can easily spoil the experience. This is not parkrun after all, you have paid for it.
Lets go over my thoughts about some of the items that can affect the experience then:
- Transport to start line: easy
- Start area(s): not overcrowded, pleasant and efficient
- Kit drop: I did not use it
- Start area toilets: no dedicated facilities. Public toilets 3 minute from the start
- Waves system: by estimated pace
- Start section: some minor congestion
- Course: nice and scenic. Big thumbs up
- Toilets: none on the course
- Water stations: at 5K mark
- Gels: none
- Finish line: okl location, efficient setting
- Bling: nice medal
- Finisher T-shirt: none
- Finisher refreshments: basic
Regents Park 10K Video Highlights
I have prepared video highlights that I hope you will also enjoy. I do this for most of my races and parkrun events I attend, it’s a fun hobby for me. If you enjoy it, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. I am very far from monetising it, but it is always nice to see someone appreciates it..
If you enjoyed this report or the highlights, you can find an index to my parkrun reports and an index to my race reports on these links.
Conclusions
As said, I had run a 5K in Regents Park before with a different organiser. The route was probably 95% the same, with some small differences around the start area. I like running in Regents Park and the Regents Park 10K offers a fun, beginner-friendly option to try the distance or to go for a PB. It is not a flat route and there are plenty of turns, so this might not be ideal, but still possible.
I will be back, I have no doubt!
Did you run as well? Let me know your thoughts!
Do you want to run it, but think you cannot? Let’s chat, anyone can do it, really!
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