Race Report: Bushy Park Run (5K), 28 December 2019, London

by Paul Thompson (picture Shamala Thompson)

I’m not known but my spontaneity but I had no intention of running this race until 2 hours before the start. Infused with morning coffee on a wing and a prayer I decided to join my brother Stephen and wife Lynn on my second race of 2019 and first ever park run. It seemed a perfect way to start my 54th birthday. And the perfect place to run my first park run, Bushy being the birthplace of park runs.

The build-up and preparation for this race was far from ideal. Sham and I were in London for a 3 night stop over en route back to New York having been out in Singapore for most of December (incuding trips to Colombo and Tbilisi). On the Thursday morning I ran 13 miles in Singapore’s signature 33C, during a solar eclipse, and boarded a flight to London later that same day arriving at before day break at Heathrow some 13 hours later. After checking into the hotel at 8am Sham and I did a shakeout run in Richmond Park, my favorite place to run and an inspiration to David Attenborough. That evening we had a family dinner at a nearby Vietnamese restaurant.

2019 has been my least active year for racing since I can remember. Bushy was my second race of the year, the other race being the 2019 New Haven Half Marathon on 2nd September. While my memory ain’t what it was that’s at least 20 years. This time last year I was looking forward to running the London Marathon in April but piriformis syndrome struck in early February on my first long run. I was unable to resume normal training until late May. After New Haven extensive work travel got in the way of high intensity training So here I was pscyhing myself up for race two of 2019.

I jogged over to the start from our hotel in Kinsgton upon Thames. After a 4 mile warm-up, including some strides, I was all set to go bar a slight tightness in my left hamstring. My plan was to set out easy and then, depending on how I felt, either settle into a tempo run or go for it.

I stuck to plan. For a short while. I covered the first mile in 5:38 and yet was passing runners moving through from around 12th to 5th. Then I got caught. That changed things. My race instinct kicked in and I immediately stepped up my pace to fend off the interloper and set about chasing two runners some 20 metres in front.

Bushy is flat and, aside from a few tight turns and some soft ground (most of it is unpaved), and fast. In the second mile there were long straights with some paved surfaces. Inow had the bit between my teeth and enjoying running fast. I clocked 5:11 for the second mile. in so doing I caught the two runners in front and successfully fended off the interloper.

Into the third mile I dug deep and clocked 5:12 despite occasionally losing traction on the soft surface and having to navigate some puddles. I finished in 16:55 for 2nd (the 2nd placed guy some 5-7 seconds in front of me was scratched from the results for not being registered) out of 1358 parkrunners. That was enough to win the M50-54 age category and secure the highest age-graded score of 90.05%. Steve was 2nd M50-54 in 18:28 while Lynn recorded her 2nd fastest in 26:13. Full results are here. The official Bushy parkrun race report kindly notes my first outing.

The feeling at the finish reminded me why I do it. It felt good, real good, especially when I put the pedal down. The hamstring held up and the race was a welcome introduction to park running. I will surely do more. And 16:30 should be possible on a fast paved course without jetlag.

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In sight of the finish

In 2019 for perhaps the first time since joining the masters ranks I failed to get in the top 3 in any of the UK masters rankings lists. My best effort was equal 6th in the half marathon. In 2020, despite being the elder statesman in my age group, I plan to put that right. The London Marathon, which includes the inaugural AbbottWMM Wanda Age Group World Championship race, and the World Masters Athletics Champs in Toronto (XC, 5000m, 10K and half marathon are on the program) beckon.

Race Report: Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run, New York, August 25

by Paul Thompson

Almost to the day in 2011 Anderson Cooper was standing in his wellies in an inch of water in downtown Manhattan as Hurricane Irene ran short of breath.  But it was too late. While the hurricane slowed to a storm New York Road Runners (NYRR) had already canned that years Percy Sutton Harlem 5K race for fear we’d all get swept into the Atlantic, bags an’ all.

On that occasion NYRR got caught up in a storm of its own making. For those entered it offered to count the race as one of the 9+1 for guaranteed entry to the ING New York City Marathon (NYCM) – but no refunds. Big deal if you were one of the majority like me that had no intention of running the NYCM. Eventually, after a lot of flak, they conceded to offer credit for a future race. Smart move.

Well this year NYRR are once again caught up in storm of its own making – its no baggage policy. This one is more like a Category 5, having hit the headlines. I wonder if the outcome will be the same: a climbdown. We’ll see.

So today was my first actual attempt at the Percy Sutton Harlem 5K Run. It was a nice change to Central Park and offered all the color of Harlem. Standing on the start line there was a long line up of speakers, some passionately pressing their religious views on arguably the world’s most diverse running community, and a musician with some wind instrument who knocked out some great renditions of the African-American National and US National anthems.

Then we were off on this 5K loop around West Harlem. Starting and finishing next to St. Nicholas Park at around 135th-138th Street it heads north for a mile, much of it uphill. At 155th Street a sharp left hander sets runners on a southerly trajectory. I hit the mile mark here in 5:11, on track for my target of 16 flat.

The lead pack at the 2 mile point.

The next mile and a quarter is mostly along a gently rolling tree lined avenue flanked by brownstones. I hit mile two in 10:20. Just on track. The final three quarters of a mile includes a steep descent, two 90 degree left handers, and rounds off with a flat straight half mile into the finish.

It was one of those finish straights that teases you, the finish gantry looking almost like you can touch it. Except that it’s a lung bursting 2-3 minutes away. At the 3 mile mark, reading 15:30, I thought I had my target in the bag. I didn’t. I lost concentration, slipped off the group I was chasing and the results showed me with 16:02, but with first age grade and first masters as a consolation.

In the finishing straight.

Warren Street’s open men’s team finished 5th, barely 10 seconds a man behind 3rd place. The team was led home by Sebastien B with Charlie Baily, Ryan Korby and Robert Dugger making up the scoring five. Unfortunately our men’s masters team, weakened by summer vacations, slipped to 3rd place but retained 2nd overall for the season.

Ryan and Charlie at the 3 mile mark.

Photo Gallery from the Race:

Runners conserving energy before the start of the race.

Others were a lot more energetic.

The route took runners past some of Harlem’s churches.

Sebastien B. leading the Warren Street team at the 2 mile point.

Fabio Casadio giving it his all.

Warren Street’s youngest team member, Nick E.

Mary Wittenberg, NYRR president, gets out on the course to take photos of the runners coming in.

Over a 100 runners from “Black Grils Run” too part. The group’s aim is to fight obesity in the African-American community.