I was gifted a place for this race, all opinions are my own

It is the best feeling in the world when you feel really strong for an entire race, and that was exactly how I felt for all 13.2 miles of London Landmarks Half Marathon 2023. My body knew exactly what it needed to do, my fuelling plan worked beautiful and my head was in the game 99% percent of the time (there was one tiny wobble, but isn’t that normal?!). It was the perfect dress rehearsal for London Marathon 2023 in just three weeks time.

A Half Marathon For London

London Landmarks Half Marathon is all about celebrating London. It’s a huge mass participation event with over 17,000 thousand runners taking to the streets on a course that wiggles its way past some of the city’s most iconic Landmarks. Along the way there were signs sharing facts about the city, the bag drop was a fleet of red London buses (my toddler was thrilled, this London kid LOVES a big red bus), entertainment came from some amazing community organisation and medals were given out by Pearly Queens and Chelsea Pensioners. There were even various London Landmarks like Big Ben, The London Eye and Tower Bridge running the race itself! It was the most wonderful showcase of the city I’ve ever experienced.

It’s no mean feat cramming 13.2 miles into Central London and The City (otherwise known as The Square Mile), and the course has a lot of twists and turns, so while it’s pretty fast and flat, it’s probably not one for the PB chasers. However, it more than makes up for it’s wiggly design as it winds its way through London taking in some of the city’s most spectacular and historic sights.

The Race Experience

Running is complicated at this time of year. It’s warm enough while you’re moving for shorts and a t-shirt, but when you’re standing still it is freezing! Even though I had an extra layer on for the walk between the media centre at COACH and the start line I was still so cold, I really wish I’d taken gloves just to help keep the edge off. Thankfully I had my mate Miranda there to distract me and the wait to get started wasn’t too long.

I’m the first to admit that I went off way too fast during this race! I got totally swept up in the amazing atmosphere, and honestly after 3 months of marathon training I just felt really good! However, that did mean that what was meant to be a super easy training run turned into a pretty nippy 13.1 mile tempo run, and while it was nice to feel my legs move fast I am going to have to be careful come marathon day to manage my pace in the first half of the race if I want to feel strong for the whole distance.

Strong really is the word that comes to mind when I think about how I ran this race. I felt really strong and friends I saw along the way commented on how strong I looked, which is the best compliment I think you can give a runner. If I felt this strong during a half marathon then I should be strong enough to take on twice the distance in three weeks time.

I’ve mentioned just how scenic the London Landmarks Half Marathon route is, it takes in everything from the Tower of London to the London Eye and lots more in between, which was an amazing distraction during the race. The only real blackspot was what was referred to as ‘The Rave Tunnel’ which was actually the Blackfriars Underpass, and it was grim. Barring a few very enthusiastic volunteers decked out in their best neon, there really wasn’t anything to see and the atmosphere was far from rave-like, it was mostly dark, damp and a bit smelly, which was a real shame. However, the rest of the course made up for it.

The final stretch of the London Landmarks Half Marathon course overlaps with parts of the last stretch of the London Marathon course - specifically that seemingly never ending stretch along Victoria Embankment. I’ve always found this stretch really challenging. When I say it feels like it goes on forever I really mean it. You can see Big Ben, but the curve of the road makes it feel like you never get any closer and it can be really demoralising. This race was the perfect opportunity to practice how I’ll overcome this mental challenge during the last stage of the marathon, it really was a case mind over matter and staying focused on the task at hand, but a surprise sighting of Alice really helped boost my spirits! Never underestimate the power of a friendly face at a tough time.

Mike and Evie managed to track me down three times during the race thanks to the AirTag I was carrying. I’ve never found race tracking apps to be particularly reliable, they often have a bit of a lag and can be slow because so many people are logging in to chase their friends around the race, and while some people recommend using Find My Friend on iPhone it really drains your battery, which is not something you want during a race. We found that the AirTag worked really well. Mike could track me accurately in real time and I could listen to as many podcasts as I needed to get to the finish line.

Coming into the final stretch of the race and sprinting down Whitehall is something that will never get old for me. It’s so special and I think it’ll only be topped by finishing on The Mall come marathon day. If I possibly can I always try to sprint finish, there’s something about that final surge that I love and this finish was no different, in fact I pushed so hard that I had to take a moment to collect myself when I finally crossed the line before being handed my medal by a spectacular Pearly Queen.

My Half Marathon Fuelling Strategy

I felt so strong through the whole of this race, and I really put that down to my fuelling strategy.

Fuelling is something that always stresses me out, I feel totally out of my depth and like I have no idea what I’m doing, but earlier in the week I’d had a chat with runner and registered dietician Charlie Watson and finally nailed down a strategy and London Landmarks Half Marathon was the perfect opportunity to test it out. Here’s what I did:

• About an hour before the race I had 3 shortbread fingers (don’t tell Evie, they ‘re her current favourite treat!) and a sachet of UCAN Edge which contains 19g of carbs per serving. I also took on a decent amount of water to make sure I was hydrated.

• Every 30 minutes I took a 32GI gel which contains 21g of carbs (so about 42g per hour, which is at the lower end of the recommended 30-90g per hour recommended during a marathon, but bang on for the 30-50g per hour recommended during a half). I love the texture of these gels, it’s like honey, which I find easier to consumer that some of the runnier isotonic gels. However, this does mean you have to take on a decent amount of water when you take them, and I wore a hydration vest with two 500ml soft bottles to help this along.

• I also had some PF 30 energy chews and Caffeine Bullet chews shoved in my pocket ‘just in case’, but I didn’t feel like I needed to use them.

This strategy worked really well for me, I didn’t have any GI issues (although I do think I need to reduce my fibre before the marathon, my pre-race poop was hard to come by before this race!) and the timing coincided with my run/walk strategy of 30 mins running and 1 min walking. I do however need to work on taking on more water, even though I was carrying water with me I wasn’t drinking often enough.

That brings me to an important point - the hydration stations at London Landmarks Half Marathon were located at roughly 2.5 miles, 4.5 miles, 7 miles and 10.5 miles and they were giving out paper cups. Obviously this is much less wasteful than handing out plastic bottles of water, but it can be tricky to take on enough water and if you try to run and drink you might get drenched! Thankfully I think London Marathon has bottles, which I find much easier to handle and will be essential as I will definitely need more than the litre of water my soft bottles hold.

The Right Kit For The Job

London Landmarks Half Marathon really was my ‘dress rehearsal’ for London, and as well as testing out my nutrition strategy I also tested out the kit I’m planning to wear on marathon day.

One of my race day priorities is to avoid being too hot because I know that affects my performance. With that in mind I opted to wear a Lululemon Swiftly Tech Short-Sleeved top (these tops are great, seamless, hardwearing and they don’t smell!) with Sweaty Betty Zero Gravity 6” shorts (the leg pocket is perfect for your phone or snacks) with my trusty ASICS Gel Nimbus 24 shoes and Salomon Active Skin 6 pack. I was really pleased with my choices, I felt comfortable and although I was a bit chilly at the start line I soon warmed up. The only think I think I’ll change is my underwear choice. I was wearing my standard M&S undies and found that they rode up a bit while I was running, which wasn’t very comfortable, so over the next couple of weeks I’ll try out some other options.

The Bottom Line

London Landmarks Half Marathon was a spectacular race and I loved every moment! It showcased the city I love beautifully and the atmosphere was absolutely amazing, it’s probably the closet you’ll get to London Marathon without running the full 26.2 miles. It would be the perfect first half marathon because it’s so friendly and well organised, and a great one to do if you’re visiting London and want to experience the city. Oh and the medal is MEGA!