Petts Wood 10km 2016 Race Review

I entered this race since it was a way to see South London Goodgymers and cross off a park in the Runner’s Guide to London book at the same time. I’d been off work with a cold Thursday and Friday and was only just feeling better so I wasn’t going for any kind of time. Sensible people probably would have stayed home.

lovely day for a 10k

At least it was a beautiful sunny day. The atmosphere from the start area was not what I expected for a local race. They had a cover band and 2 moon bounces (bouncy castles). The line for race number pickup was long but went quickly and baggage drop was a breeze. I met up with the rest of the Goodgym group and we took a quick group photo before heading to the start.

Team Good Gym are ready to rock!

I almost forgot to mention that there were 3 people dressed as gorillas that helped lead the warm up. I felt this was a bit misleading as I didn’t run into one real gorilla in Petts Wood. That’s my only real complaint about this race.

Lets get in shAPE (I’m very sorry)

(There was also a pink Gorilla)

The start was divided into sections by finishing time. I headed into the 50-55 group since I wanted to do under 55 despite the hills and having just recovered from a cold. They left a large gap between each start group which was nice so there wasn’t much congestion even with the narrow roads and turnstiles.

Somewhere in the first 2km the course led up up a flight of stairs to cross a railway which felt cruel on the quads. The scenery after that was gorgeous though and I enjoyed the off road terrain until  we reached a very steep hill. I got over confident and found myself actually passing people on the first half of the hill which never happens but it just kept going and going and I began to feel very ill so I slowed down a lot. There were amusing  motivational signs all the way up which was a lovely touch even if it didn’t make the hill any easier.

After surviving that massive mountain the rest of the race was delightful. It was a captivating mix of open fields and woodland trails that made you completely forget you were still in London.The course was meticulously marked with the runners safety in mind, pointing out all the tree roots and other trip hazards along the way. It’s incredible the amount of effort that has gone into this 10km.

My favourite part was around 7km when you passed a marshal dressed as spongebob and headed downhill to a spectator point filled with cheering people, high-fiveing kids and a musician playing Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off. I felt wary of enjoying this speedy slope since I feared another tough hill might follow it but luckily the worst was over. There were a couple of inclines ahead, most memorable being at the last kilometer when we entered the residential roads but nothing as painful. The downhill and cheering gave me a well needed boost of energy and I caught up with Goodgym Lewisham trainer Adele. I ran the last 2 km or so right behind  her and we finished 2 seconds apart which was fun.

almost there! (except I took this photo on my walk from the  station to the start)

I felt very ill after finishing so did a slow jog to cool myself down before grabbing water and snacks. They had water in paper cups, bananas and samosas surprisingly. Sadly I didn’t have the stomach for a samosa but I heard they were tasty. The technical t-shirts blew me away. It was brilliantly organised since your t-shirts size was on your race number so you got the size you ordered. I’ve been to so many races where they run out of smaller sizes by the time I’m finished which makes me really angry. That alone would have impressed me enough but they had women’s sizes and the x-small was actually x-small! I think this is my only fitted technical shirt!

Thanks Petts Wood Runners for acknowledging that women deserve to have T-shirts that fit them!

We had a well earned coffee at the St Christopher’s Hospice Tent and took photos with the friendly gorilla man.Turns out Petts Wood 10km has raised over £43,750 for the charity since it’s first year in 2006. It felt great to be a part of that and a part of their 10 year anniversary race.

Gorilla Victory!

Shortly after we were texted with our times which was another bonus I wasn’t expecting. I headed back to the train with my medal feeling smug that it was noon on a Sunday and I’d already done a 10k.

Arwen the cat is not amused

Double bonus-when looking at my run on Strava I found out we also ran in Jubilee Country Park which means I get to cross off 2 parks from The Runner’ Guide to London. Yay! I love crossing things off lists!

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Review Stats:

Medal– solid with a great design
Goody Bags–  no actual bag but the fitted technical shirt was more than enough plus there were snacks.
Baggage Drop– easy and quick
Toilets– I didn’t use them so can’t comment
Support/atmosphere–  astounding spectator support including a few musicians playing and lots of signs and costumes. The fun atmosphere was spread out along the course as well, not just at the start and finish.
Start– flawless. Well organized timing areas with plenty of space between meant minimal crowding.
Marshals– truly fantastic. Their enthusiasm added to the race experience (especially Spongebob marshal)
PB potential- more of an ‘enjoy the scenery’ race.
Value for Money– Phenomenal value!
Overall Organisation– Couldn’t be better. You could tell a lot of heart went into this race.
Overall: I can’t recommend the Petts Wood 10km enough. It’s scenic, well organised and exceeded all my expectations. Plus there are unexplained gorillas.

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