Energetic, fun and confidence-boosting! These are the words I’d use to summarise running the London Landmarks Half Marathon.

Before Sunday 1st August 2021, I’d never run a half marathon before. In fact, less than a year ago I set myself a challenge to be able to run 10km. Yet here I am, just a few months after hitting that goal, having just successfully run 21.09 kilometres (13.1 miles)!

London Landmarks Half Marathon 2021

Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the half marathon was rescheduled from its usual date in April to Sunday 1st August 2021. I was concerned it would be really hot on the day being in August, and particularly as we had just had a heatwave in England a few weeks leading up to the event! Luckily for us though, it was about 21 degrees on the day, with a mixture of sunshine, clouds and a brief (and very refreshing) drizzle of rain – perfect running conditions in my eyes!

I was running the half marathon with my younger sister Emily, with both of us in the Sunshine Wave with a goal time of 2 hours 30 minutes.

As soon as we came out of Charing Cross underground station, the atmosphere was electric. There was loud dance music and plenty of people cheering as the second wave started running. The air was full of excitement and positive energy that we immediately felt it was going to be a really fun event. This was also one of the first major face-to-face events in London since the start of the pandemic, with approximately 14,000 runners on the day, so it was great to see so many people able to get together again!

Raising Awareness and Donations for Cancer Research UK

The key focus for me for running the Half Marathon, was to raise awareness and much needed donations for Cancer Research UK. My Grandpa has Basal Skin Cancer, and I also had a recent surgical procedure following abnormal cells in my cervix. While my biopsy’s came back all clear, I know that not all women would have received the same results. So I wanted to run for both my Grandpa, and for all women who have had, or currently have Cervical Cancer.

So far, I have surpassed my goal of £350, and raised an amazing £446! A huge thank you to everyone who has made a donation and shown support – it really is appreciated and helped me to keep going on race day!

If you’d still like to make a donation, you can do so on my Fundraising Page.

The Route

Starting off at Pall Mall, the route took us over the Waterloo Bridge, along Victoria Embankment, past St Paul’s Cathedral and then the Royal Courts of Justice. Further on in the route, we got to run past the Monument and the Tower of London before running back towards Big Ben, and looping around towards the Finish Line which was next to Downing Street in Westminster.

Race Day Atmosphere

Throughout the whole event, the words of encouragement from the volunteers, spectators and other runners was just fantastic. There were bands, DJs, dancers and cheer stands from different charities around the whole route. We had the opportunity to chat and laugh with other runners throughout the race too which was great!

Are there Pacers?

Yes, there are Pacers that are clearly visible throughout the course. When you’re waiting to start, you’ll be able to position yourself near to the pace time you want to keep. We started off at 2:30 but then decided we had enough energy to push past 2:20. This spurred us on to keep on track and know that we would finish ahead of the expected time which was a great motivator!

My Half Marathon Time

Emily and I crossed the finish line together at 2 hours 16 minutes! We didn’t plan on not stopping, but somehow we managed to run consistently for the whole duration of the route. The energy from the spectators was amazing and definitely spurred us on to keep running on the day.

The 2021 Medal

Let’s face it. We all want to wear the medal at the end! The first thing I did after I crossed the finish line was congratulate Emily, and then collect my Goodie Bag and put on the medal! This year the medal featured The Shard that folds out marking the race year.

The Goodie Bag

Straight after the finish line we were able to pick up our free Goodie Bags. Inside we got:

• The London Landmarks Half Marathon Medal.
• A London Landmarks Finisher T-Shirt.
• An Eat Natural Energy Bar.
• A can of water.
• A wrist sweatband with a zip pocket.
• A strawberry fruit twist snack.
• A clear yellow drawstring bag.

Would I recommend running the London Landmarks Half Marathon?

Definitely! The day was so much fun, I have been on a high for a few days since! This was my first half marathon event, and it was a fantastic way to soak up the energy and encouragement from the spectators to help carry me over the finish line.