Based on its finishing line being inside Wembley Stadium the Vitality North London Half Marathon promotes itself as having “the best finish line in the world”.
This was the main reason that I was happy to pay the rather steep £40 entry fee. Due to Wembley being used to far larger crowds there was no difficulty in driving to the venue or getting a parking space and the race village had all the facilities that you would expect from a large commercial race. The only surprise was the queue for the bag drop which was caused by all the bags being checked.
It was an “out and back” route starting on Olympic Way just outside Wembley Stadium and heading north-east to the Alliance Arena where Saracens play rugby. Once the running track at the Alliance Arena had been circumnavigated the course retraced its steps back to Wembley Stadium. It was a cold and grey morning which made it perfect for running. Once the race was underway it took a few minutes before I was able to get into my running due to the large number of runners. Between the two stadiums the course was pretty unremarkable although I was surprised at how hilly the first three miles were. As I passed five miles the leaders were coming back approaching the eight-mile marker. Watching them glide past doing what seemed like effortless five minute miles was truly amazing. Not long after this we arrived at the half way point at the Alliance Arena and went round the running track before retracing our steps. I cannot remember much about the rest of the route until we hit the hills in the final few miles. The hill at 10 miles was the first time since the start of the race that my pace dipped below 7 and a half minutes a mile.
The rather dull route and the hills were fast forgotten as we approached Wembley stadium. Everyone seemed to speed up, helped by the downhill finish. It was fantastic to run into the stadium. We headed through a rather dark access tunnel under the stand and then up into the light of the stadium. We then ran the length of one of the stands which was full of supporters up to the finish line. I did my best to savour the moment as I fear that this will be the only time that I grace the Wembley pitch! I was delighted to get home in 1:38:06 which was a new personal best by almost two minutes.
In summary this was a well organised and enjoyable event. The excitement of running around the Alliance Arena running track and finishing inside the magnificent Wembley Stadium easily made up for the rather dull route between the two stadiums and the steep entry fee. This is definitely a race that I recommend my fellow Strider to consider entering.
For more information visit the race website.
Fran