Sycamore success in Vitality race
There was a wonderful event in London a week ago when over 15,000 people took part in the Vitality London 10,000m. At Sycamore Trust we had a team of three taking part and they all finished in under an hour.
First of the Sycamore team across the finish line was Trevor Hazell from Dagenham. Trevor is an experienced runner and was nursing an injury, which explains his slightly slower than usual time of 49 minutes 42 seconds. Second in our group was Paul Taylor. Paul, from Romford, has done a variety of fund-raising for Sycamore in the past, but hadn't done any training for the event last week, which makes his time of 55.20 even more remarkable.
Bringing up the rear for the Sycamore trio was our marketing chief Steve Dixon, who was pleased to get round in under an hour without needing a paramedic! He finished in 56.25. Our trio raised over £500 for Sycamore Trust UK and our fund-raising page is still open and taking donations for another couple of weeks.https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/sycamoretrust10k2023
Paul with his medal after finishing the 10k
On a warm day in early autumn, runners packed The Mall to take on the course that includes some of the most recognisable sights in the capital. The wheelchair race kickstarted the Vitality London 10,000 and first across the Finish Line by Buckingham Palace line was Richard Chiasarro in the wheelchair event, completing the distance in 24:36, with Claudia Burrough first female wheelchair finisher in 28:30.
Behind the fast finishers, thousands of participants enjoyed the autumn sunshine and iconic route as they made their way past the likes of St Paul’s Cathedral, the Bank of England, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, before finishing in front of Buckingham Palace. After winning The Big Half earlier this month, Jack Rowe crossed the line first in 28:13 in his final race before the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga next weekend.
Sonia Samuels was the first woman to cross the line in 33:01, despite not feeling in the best form ahead of the event. The Women’s Running Wave was started by Holly Taylor and Esther Newman, of the celebrated Women’s Running podcast, before the new for 2023 Run to Overcome wave got underway. The wave saw participants join a group of like-minded runners to enjoy the positive benefits of exercise on their mental health. In association with Mental Health Mates, runners supported the #DoItForYou campaign in their masses, including some well-known faces. The wave was led by Mental Health Mates founder Bryony Gordon.
Steve & Trevor pictured in Green Park before the race
