Run Through Victoria Park – Race Recap

Have you ever ran a Run Through race, they offer, 5 & 10ks & have recently started to offer Half Marathons at certain locations, across London with the coolest medal for a very reasonable price (more details of Run Through events can be found HERE)

I have had serious bling envy since I saw lots of friends posting pictures of themselves on Instagram last year with their Battersea Power Station medals, so I made sure I planned 2 into my London Marathon training, this one Victoria Park & of course Battersea Park

I have had heard nothing but good things about Run Through races so I was really looking forward to this weekends race, so I was absolutely gutted that the race just didn’t live up to my expectations

So before I write about what I didn’t like about the event I want to be fair & write about what I did like

• I love the variety of races that Run Through offer
• They DO have the best medals
• They are cheap to enter
• When I contacted them I was told I could switch from the Half to the 5 or 10k without any issues as per my Physio’s recommendations (most race organisers do not offer different distances or will not let you drop down or defer but Run Through were very accommodating

• Getting an email a few days before an event telling you the only toilets available will be the public toilets already in the park, none of which are particuarly near the start or have more than 3 cubicles, for 500+ runners plus runners, their friends and family and all the other park users really isn’t adequate (saying that I did spot a few portaloos near the start, although they may have been added due to one of the buildings in the park being renovated)
• You have collect your race numbers on the day – my pet hate, I will happily pay a few £s extra to have them posted to me, no one wants to be standing around on what you know is going to be a cold/wet or possibly snowy March morning just to collect a race number
• After collecting your race number being told your baggage label was not in your race pack so you have to queue again and when you get to the person handing them out their poor hands were so cold they struggled to separate them – I arrived quite early but I am guessing this caused delays later when more people were arriving
• Leaving your bag in the same place you collected your race number only to return and they have taken all the directions down so you have no idea what gazebo to go to as they are no longer numbered (because I only done the 5k I was one of the first to finish so it wasn’t like I was late and they were packing away) and because the bags were placed in no order I imagine this was carnage 30 minutes later, again I am guessing the bags were not placed in any order due to the delay in giving out baggage tags
• The bling that I have been eyeing up for so many months being the teeniest bling ever, it was fine for a 5k but I think I would have been disappointed receiving this for the half
• & finally the final straw I do not seem to be listed on the race results even as a no show, I know I switched distances but I even check when I picked up my number and was advised because we had chip timing I could run which ever distance I wanted and the chip would record accordingly

I am totally gutted I was disappointed by this race as everyone else I know loves them, & as I have said before they offer cheap races most weekends in a variety of locations across London which makes them very appealing and convenient, would I recommend a Run Through event, to be honest no, not based on today’s experience but I am hoping the Battersea Park race in a few weeks time will change my mind, I will keep you posted