Nike Human Race Report: London Edition

I ran the Nike Human Race today. It started in Wembley Stadium. Ironically I am running for London instead of KL since runners here can only represent this city. I found out from CP, that runners in Paris get to choose the city they want to represent.

Shots taken before the race when it was still dry and bright

Even though I couldn't run for KL, I am still proud that I did it for London and we came in second to Madrid in the overall ranking! Londoners have to concede the matadors were just too strong for us! Other than that, we beat 24 other cities in the world. So that's pretty remarkable.

City ranking

Even though I took part in the event, I was in my worst form.

Imagine a time when you have a migraine and had to climb the stairs. Suddenly a dog chases you as soon as you reach the landing in the middle of nowhere and then the sky starts pouring like mad and you had to run for cover from the rain as well as from the fierce bitch.

I felt exactly like that before the race.

I was down with a sore throat for three days and then it developed into a mild fever with an unstoppable running nose. I tried using Clarinase to plug the mucus but to no avail.

Trying to run with flu is like trying to drive a car with the exhaust pipe blocked. Only thing, you’re the car.

It was affecting my mood terribly and I had the Nike Human Race today. Unlike the London Marathon, they do not reserve your place for the race next year if you do not feel fit to run.

So I had to make a decision - to run or not?

30quid was too much to lose, so I decided to gamble it with my life. I didn't realise the decision of my life is only worth a low 30 quid!

Anyway, when I arrived, I sorted my baggage and went to the stadium. I was placed in the first wave of four. I managed to make last-minute contact with Bettina, who was also doing the race. She was in a different wave. I don’t know how have they allocated the waves but I suspect it has something to do with our predicted finishing time.

The first two waves get to go to the pitch, i.e the football field.

I did recover from my illness when I arrived into Wembley Stadium. It was false recovery from the excitement and adrenaline rush into the body. But it fell through when the sea of runners dressed in red amassed and glared by the stadium floodlights. The aggressive colour was too much for the retina when it is in sick mode.

The glaring red colour is too much for a pair of ailing retina!

This run is slightly different. They started with a mini concert by Pendulum and Moby. They were good but they annoyed us after a while when they delayed the entire race.

Pre-race concert on the pitch of Wembley Stadium

The race was supposed to start at 7pm but was delayed until 7.30pm. The sky turned to dusk at this time. That’s also when normal human beings usually have their dinners and bats look for food. But the 30,000 of us were waiting to run!

I hope Nike has learnt that high-profile artistes and a high-profile race cannot go together. There can only be one show!

I was surprised to see Paula Radcliffe, who represented Team GB for the marathon event in Beijing (but didn’t finish). She was there to flag off our race. It was my first time seeing her in person so I was quite excited. She's shorter in real life than in TV!

Paula Radcliffe on stage

At the start, runners from the first wave, probably 10,000 of us, converged into a one-lane tunnel. It was quite a nasty start as people jostled to get through it. It took me a while to orientate myself out from the crowd.

Runners converged into a tunnel to exit the stadium

As soon as we were out, we were greeted by the good ol' British weather; the rain. I was soaked in 10mins. I also thought I was going to be electrocuted by my iPod in such wet condition. The last time I checked, it’s still working.

The race course has its fair share of undulation and flat stretches. I like the climbs. I overtook many runners in these places. If you're sick, soaked and running, all you care is to finish the race as quickly as possible whether it’s a flat or undulated course!

First and last two ks were zig-zagged around the stadium

I am glad there were no complications in my breathing even though I was down with a running nose.

The rain stopped as soon as I crossed the finishing line. Just can't help thinking if I'm the cause of the rain!

Picturesque finish

After the race, all runners were rewarded with a finisher’s T-shirt and lots of energy drinks. There were no medals though but since Nike has bribed us with two of their apparels, they can be forgiven this time.

The not-so-glaring finisher's shirt

Furthermore, the proceeds from the race will all go to charity organisations, so that’s not too bad. At least I know some of the money will go to saving the Orang Utans (in Sumatra!).

I received my official time through the SMS. The results came through half an hour after I crossed the finishing line. Now that’s very efficient.

Runners making their way to the Tube as soon as they are changed. No-nonsense, no lucky draws, no prize giving ceremonies, no time-wasting. Suits me really well.

To my surprise, despite the illness and adverse weather, I smashed my previous personal best for a 10k race with a time of 44mins 6 secs.

I am placed 7626th out of a supposed 1,000,000 runners in the world ranking. Sweet!

A video I found from the official website showing the race in London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome.