On Sunday 9th July, our family and our friends’ family were pleasantly occupied with a charity 5k(3.2m) running event in Southend. The sun’s rays stretched wide over the glowing shore as I peeked over from the car to see the course. The discussions were somewhat casual and relatively relaxing before our first ever 5k run got under way. I must include that from our aspect, there weren’t any particular preperations towards accomplishing this event except our routine rituals of playing sports and eating slightly healthily (I wouldn’t swear to this though!) Despite the training, we went out and clocked some smashing personal bests which we were delighted by.
The course was located in the stunning seafront of Southend-On-Sea and was the perfect offering for the marathoners with nature and people providing pulsating positivity. Nowhere had I felt annoyed or physically unstable on the course due to its plain sailing and invigorating atmosphere. The start and finish line, the signs, the notices, the people and the track were all a collaboration in helping me trod to the finish line; it’s fortunate to face your first run in this manner! My parents advised me to stay free from the earphones and music and distractions so I followed their instruction. At the end, I realized that there was no requirement for these additionals because the lively atmosphere kept the adrenaline flowing. Parents’ advice is always given wisely, by the way.
Before the marathon kicked off, there was a half marathon in the same location which caused a short delay of 15 minutes. The comparitively small group that we were bunched in seemed to lose their patience and were really buoyant towards hearing from the whistle. “3 2 1… (whistle blows as loud as a horn).” We didn’t really arrange a tactic to follow and just started off with a steady pace which elevated halfway into the, “Fun Run” as they called it. Expectations are there. When I ran, I was expecting a hell of a pain from my stomach, especially at the pace and consistency that I was running at, however, there wasn’t a lot of pain nor any drawbacks from me whatsoever. This surprised me and intrigued me to develop my running for a future 10k run.
As I approached the halfway stage, my sight was filled with people offering sponges and water to soak the bothersome sweat off ourselves. Many people, including me, were already drenched with sweat at this point. It was initially strange to me as it was my first run so I learned that this is a wise choice to make especially in longer runs. I made it halfway (though it didn’t seem like it) and looped around to head back to the start/finish line. After the halfway checkpoint, I started to lose the gear so I held back for a while until one of my friends caught up with me quite rapidly. I was nearing to the finish line and I saw two signs almost next to each other – “800m left,” and “400m left.” At this point my speed was so consistent that the two signs seemed so close to each other.
With a small number of people who overtook my lead, I saw the finish line and it made me a happy clam; I sprinted towards the end with my utmost speed to clock a personal best of 24 min and 38 sec whilst beating my friend by just half a second! At the end I got my medal for completion, a bottle of water, a shirt and a bag from the sponsers. I felt extremely proud alongside my exhaustion in the desperate shade from the striking sun.
More Information:
Website – Southend 5k Run
Charity – Havens Hospice
Venue- East Beach Shoeburyness, Southen-On-Sea, Essex
Price – £5 / head
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