The Bupa London 10,000 is now in it’s third year and seems to grow each time I run it. I’ve run all three races and can say without hesitation that this is one of the finest running races in the UK. This morning 13,000 people descended on Buckingham Palace to run alongside the likes of Mo Farah, Chris Thomson, Micah Kogo and half the cast of Emmerdale. With the weather overcast and a cool breeze in places, a personal best was definitely on the cards for a lot of people.

Last year I’d managed a not-too-shabby time of 49:33; a PB for me. Part of the reason for this was because of the small groups that are released over the start line in waves. The race is organised by the same people that run the London Marathon, so they are used to handling large numbers of runners. Last year I was given a very clear line to the finish, with little congestion and ran a very comfortable race. The organisers kept my time on record and had deemed that this year I was eligible to set off in the second wave (of which I was able to get right to the front).

The 10k covers most of Central London, starting from Westminster (right past Big Ben), running along the Embankment (with views of the London Eye and Tower Bridge), through the City (past The Gherkin and St Paul’s Cathedral) before finishing back at Westminster (past Trafalgar Square and down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace). It’s a tourist’s dream! In one hour you’ll see most of London’s best bits and you don’t even have to get on the tube! Click here for a map of the course.

There are two water stations and two showers stations, which was helpful as parts of the City were a little humid. The spectator support is lacking slightly as the race is simply not as well known as something like the London Marathon. But along the Embankment there was plenty to keep me going, along with at least 5 bands playing along the route (including the incredible Taiko Drummers from the London Marathon).

Incredibly, Britain’s Mo Farah set a British road record today, running an incredible time of 27:44 after sprinting away from Micah Kogo (5 seconds behind) and another Brit was on the podium as Chris Thomson came in third. The almost perfect conditions certainly played their part as I was able to run a 47:15, knocking two full minutes off my personal best (admittedly having hardly trained and sporting a mild hangover).

Still, so many runners did the old trick of starting off too quickly! Being at the front of my group, I was passed by a heck of a lot of people in the early stages today, only to overtake many of them again a mile before the finish (with a smug grin on my face if I’m honest). Pacing is so important (see point 5 of this post).

So what’s in the goodie bag?

• Asics Race T-shirt (good quality)
• Race medal (good quality)
• 1 bottle of Lucozade Lite
• Sachet of Jointace Gel
• Ricola Sugar Free Herb Drops
• Nature Valley Granola Bar
• 1 bottle of Nestle Pure Life water
• Canderel Sweetner

Like this? See 5 tips for running a 10k race.

For those that aren’t aware, every two years the people at Comic Relief and BBC Sport team up to raise a massive amount for charity, as well as uniting the sporting community and providing an entertaining night of TV for the British public. This year’s main celebrity contribution has come from Eddie Izzard, who ran 43 marathons in 52 days in aid of this cause (painful ice-bath video here). The Sport Relief Mile allows individuals from all over the country to run a mile and get friends and family to sponsor them. Money raised will either go to some of the poorest countries in the World, or will stay at home to help underprivileged people in the UK.

Even my 7-year-old brother was involved this year. His school took part, running 4 laps of their school field. But the little Mini Sir Jog A Lot ended up doing 10 laps! Show off.

The run was staged around Bristol’s College Green and as there were so many people running, the race was set off in waves. Doing 6 miles, as I was, meant 6 laps around a one-mile course. I was in this to get a good time. My marathon training plan said “10km race – hard effort” so I was keen to keep a sub 8-mile an hour pace.

Bang! We’re off (click – turn the watch on) and the serious athlete Sir Jog A Lot immediately realises he’s taking this event far too seriously. It’s not a race, it’s a fun run. I still wanted a good time, but I wasn’t going to get annoyed by having to dodge rollerbladers, musicians, 3-year-olds, hula hoopers and mankini-clad nutters (even though another wave of runners was released right into my path on the 4th lap).

Sadly, it was all over before it had begun. The hilly little 6 laps (which turned out to be only 5.58 miles according to the GPS) went by in 43 minutes. I was bloody pleased with that! I was on course for a 47-minute 10k and had a good laugh in the process. Last time I checked, Sport Relief had raised over £30 million. A fabulous effort in which half of the country seems to have been a part of. And on top of that, a good quality medal and a goodie bag to boot!

A special mention to my running partners Hannah (3 miles) and Jess (6 miles), whom I rudely left behind right at the start! I wasn’t taking it seriously, honest…

Okay, so you’re a competent runner. You’re a 10km pro, perhaps have a few half marathons under you’re belt, and maybe even a marathon and, towards the end you’re usually overtaking – and that makes you feel good. But, when the time comes up after the race, there’s a nagging doubt that perhaps you could be doing better. But how? How can you shave off a few minutes here, some precious seconds there, and start to improve those times? Well, thankfully, here are some tips to help you smash that PB:

1. Race everything
   
   You see that other runner plodding along 60 meters away? Yeah? She’s going to win £1,000 instead of you unless you catch her in two minutes. Oh and that tree blowing innocently in the wind? It’s going to fall on you unless you’re past it in under 45 seconds. Basically: find motivation, whatever it is, to make yourself run faster than you need to. Overtake other runners, see how long you can stay ahead of a cyclist coming up behind you, imagine a dog is about to attack you, and so on. Anything you can do to exert extra energy will help you reach a new level of fitness. And it’s fun too. This is essentially the Swedish running style known as Fartlek (Speed Play) and is a good way to have fun, and increase your speed, while out running.

2. Push yourself
   
   Perhaps this will sound obvious but you’ve got to push yourself. This though, needn’t mean running like Usian Bolt and sweating more than Lee Evans, it just means easing yourself from a position of comfort while running to one of, well, a bit less comfort. Next time you find yourself ticking along nicely, gradually start to accelerate. Nothing major, but a slow, steady increase, so that after about 200 meters you’re doing a good speed. Now maintain that pace for about three minutes, or as long as you feel comfortable with, and then ease back down to a comfortable pace. Speeding up gradually and then easing back down will help to shift the boundary of your most comfortable running speed to one that’s slightly faster than before.

3. Time yourself
   
   Investing in a good watch is a great way to go faster. Being able to accurately record how fast and how far you’re running while out and about provides you with a much better way of being able to assess your ability. And using the Fartlek running style (mentioned above) means you can put a specific speed and/or distance limit on each sprint you do – say, 0.4km at 4.30 minutes per km. Garmin, the most well-known brand, have watches that start at around £60 on Amazon and a little shopping around will help you see what seems best.

4. Plan your race
   
   This is the time when you might feel like an obsessive runner. Pick a race that’s flat, on a smooth surface, and avoids laps. Have a good breakfast (and a banana) and make sure you’re there in plenty of time to warm up. The race itself is also something you need to plan. The first 3km could dash any hopes you have if you go too slow or get caught in a crowd, so get to a good position in the start and ensure you begin at the pace you’ve planned for. Through 3km to 8km, you want to find that rhythm you’ve built to in training and stick to it: this is where your fancy watch will come in handy, telling you your exact pace, and alerting you if you’re going to slowly, allowing you to pick up the pace before you fall too far behind. Then over the last two kilometers really push it home, using the adrenaline of the race environment, the knowledge you’re close to home, and the fact you’re about to smash your PB, to really shave off as many seconds, or indeed minutes, as you can. Hopefully, this will see you home in your best time yet; and there’s something intensely satisfying about that.

Only trouble is once… now you’ve set it you’ve got to break it again. Back out on the road you go…

For those that have just started running, whether you’re looking to lose a few pounds or you’re keen on running more competively, a 10k race is a great first challenge to really test your endurance skills.

If you’re a fully fledged marathon runer, 10k is a nice distance to keep yourself in peak physical condition during those winter months and is a fantastic platform to start improving your long-distance times. Because of this, the 10k running race is one of the most popular events in the jogging community.

Here are 5 tips that will ensure that you’ll run and finish a 10k race in the time you’re looking to:

1. Pick your training plan:

   You’ll need to decide on the training plan for you. This will depend on how seriously you’re going take the race and how far in advance you’ve been given to train. Annoyingly, unless you’re a regular runner, it can take a number of weeks to significantly improve your distance running so if your race is in a couple of weeks then getting round will be your main goal. Runner’s World and Cancer Research UK (beginners and advanced) have some good 10k training plans that are based on how long you have until race day.

2. Choose the right clothes:

   If you’re new to running then you might be inclined to dust off those old trainers that have been lying in the back of your closet and start pounding asphalt. Don’t. Trainers are the most important tool in a runner’s arsenal and are the one area you should never skrimp on. Visit a recommended athletics store to have your gait analysed and pick up the shoes that are best suited to your running style. Your posture will improve and you’ll avoid unneccesary injury. With shorts, shirts and socks stick to light material and try and avoid heavier fabrics like thick cotton. This will hopefully reduce friction between thighs and armpits and will ‘wick’ away sweat should you get hot. Find out what you feel the most comfortable wearing (and how much leg you’re happy with showing off) and get plenty of…

3. Practice:

   Unlike training for a marathon, 10 kilometres is a distance that you can perform at the end of each week that’ll leave you enough time to recover for the following week. Get a few 10k practice runs under your belt and try to discover what sort of times you feel comfortable with. Some may manage to crack the sub-one-hour mark on their first attempt. Others may struggle, but you can save yourself a few surprises by having a go around your local park. Use the Google Maps distance measurement tool or the GMAP Pedometer to map out the 10k and work out some split times based on landmarks on your route. It’ll come in handy come the big day as you’ll know whether to slow down or speed up as you reach each kilometre mark. If you’ve got the wallet, there are plenty of GPS tools you can purchase, like the Garmin Forerunner.

4. Prepare:

   It might not be a marathon, but that doesn’t mean that a good bowl of pasta the night before won’t go down a treat on race day. Stock up on carbs , pin your race number to your shirt and plan your route to the start line the night before. The last thing you want is to arrive late at the start line and exhaust yourself getting there, or worse still, miss the race!

5. Pace yourself:

   It sounds like simple advice, go steady and you’ll make it all the way round, and it is simple. But the amount of times I’ve been passed in the first mile of a 10k race, only to overtake them by mile 4, is absolutely astonishing. Your aim should be to obtain the much-heralded negative split time, where you run the second half of the race faster than the first. If it’s your first race you will almost certainly get caught up in the mad rush at the start and launch into a 4-minute K pace. You know your body, so you should know your extremeties. The rumours that the crowd will keep you going are only true so far. If you run too fast at the start you’ll struggle at the end and you’ll leave the race feeling disappointed and upset with yourself.