Nike+ Human Race - complete shambles

Got a text on my phone when I reached back from the run - "You raced the world. You beat the clock - well run. Your official time: 00:42:38. Your pace: 04:16/KM. Check out nikeplus.com tomorrow for global race results."

It looks impressive with the use of technology but I really consider this to be my worst race that I have ever run in my life! Let's try to list them down and you judge for yourself:

1. Run route was only released 2 weeks before the event; prior to that, most of the runners have no clue of the route, let alone that it will be run in the evening; we were only notified upon collection of the running T.
2. The instructions stated that all runners are required to be inside Wembley stadium by 6pm, but there was no indication that the run would only start at 7.45pm. During the hour and half, there was no notice of that actual start time, and runners were all jogging around the limited area inside the stadium and trying to warm themselves up before the start.
3. Why was there a concert performance by Pendulum (who???), Moby and other DJs for and hour and half when most of the runners just want to start running? Personally, I am a fan of Moby, but completely did not see the point of the performances especially when it was raining and cold; we just wanted to RUN!!!
4. I spoke to a few runners and we were all completely clueless about the point of the elaborate stage and the artistes performance. This was meant to raise funds for 3 global charities, wouldn't it be more fruitful to give these additional money to them?
5. The route was a the worst I have encountered; sharp turns, no lighting, few road marshals. I know the weather was out of control, but surely a better route should have been chosen for an event of such scale? I was in the first wave that started at 7.45pm and I could hardly see many sections of the road as the lighting was extremely poor as it was through a industry area. I really sympathise with the runners starting in wave 4 and hope no accidents happen along the way.
6. Again on the route: why was such a remote area of London chosen which resulted in the supporters unable to give the support like any other big races. It was that bad that I will not walk there alone at night!

My rants were not helped by the fact that I performed badly in the run, not helped by 5 diarrhea trips to the toilet in the day. Only felt better after a dosage of medicine which left my legs slightly wobbly due to the loss of water and salt. The lack of information of the start time also resulted in the runners not sure if they should go to the washroom or not especially since they have got a good place near the starting line like myself. I ended up making a pit stop to the toilet at the 5km mark and struggled to maintain the pace through the route.

In the end, all of us were cold and wet from the rain slashing down on us along the route, and the organisation definitely left a very bitter after taste to the event. The entire setup just seem to be a publicity stunt for Nike, rather than doing what they are preaching. I will not be surprise if there are no aftermath from the public tomorrow...

Nike+ Human Race

Been very slack over the past month in terms of staying up-to-date with the blog due to some very active traveling (3 European cities in a month) and work related stuff. Hoping to complete my uploading of all pictures over the weekend but really looking forward to the race this weekend, which presents a chance to get inside Wembley Stadium(the race starts from the stadium), as well as an opportunity to improve my PB from my previous 10km run, although I am not looking forward to the weather forecast of rain/thunder/sleet, etc etc...

Lost in transition

A weekend in Berlin turned out to be another mini nightmare, continuing my tradition of an unusual event/incident in my recent trips. A S-bahn disruption from Berlin city to the Schönefeld airport ended up me missing my flight back to London, resulting in another night out on chairs that are obviously not meant to sleep over. Having to get another ticket home was encountered with 'not very friendly' ground staff from Globeground Berlin, who insisted that I have to 'check on the internet myself' if I want to book another flight other than Ryanair even though they handle both airlines desk bookings. She was even able to look me in the eye and said that she was unable to check on her system (I thought those airport terminals were the 'know all' machines that can check every single airline that exist in this world, other than the supercomputers quietly churning away data for the preparing for the next particle collision at CERN). So much so for German technology advancement, which I think it partly what you get for flying with a crap service like Ryanair, who has just charged me another EUR75 for missing my flight and putting me on the next flight back. Thanks Mr O'Leary!

Week in review

Another 10km in the bag from the BUPA Capital Run in Hyde Park this morning. Struggled a fair bit but was quite pleased that I came within a whisker of my target of under 40min - I put it down to the excuse of not able to get over my loss. Not really looking forward to the week ahead on the tube, I might try to walk to work instead.

Off on a complete tangent, read that Emirates airlines is going to ban all paper on their flights (including inflight magazines, safety instructions, etc) which is taking up 2kg per seat, and there are an average of 500 seats on a flight. 1 ton of weight saved for every flight - what a brilliant idea to combat the increasing fuel costs!

What is wrong with this city?

It was meant to be an enjoyable night out celebrating John's last night with the company but ended with a terrible bad taste for me when I walked out of the Thai restaurant in Covent Garden only to discover that the lock to my Specialized bike was literally cut in half, and my bike was nowhere in sight. I am really upset as I liked my bike alot and only had it for less than 4 months. Did not even bother to report the incident when I walked past a police station on my way home since I did not have any insurance and the police will not be doing anything. Will be making a trip to Bethnal Green this weekend (won't be surprised to find it there although I am sure there is nothing I can do) but I doubt I can convince myself to get another bike in this city.