Race Report: a club members’ perspective of the 2023 Hackney Half
Gavin LauOur club member Chloe Topping has given her perspective of events as they unfolded at the festival like weekend on Hackney Marshes…
This year was my first ever Hackney half marathon, and boy (other than the infamous Hackney Half heatwave), did it live up to expectations. It was a joy to rule the roads of the borough in place of cars, and see all of Hackney out to support.
Wearing the club colours was particularly great, as I only went about half a mile without hearing someone shout “…come on VPH!”. Despite the 24,000 entrants, the race felt incredibly small when I recognised so many VPH’ers doing a brilliant job of pacing and handing out water.
Training got me out of bed early to run around Victoria Park with friends and come to Tuesday and Thursday sessions with far more regularity than I normally manage in the months prior, which were brilliant additions to 2023. If you haven’t run the local half, I would definitely recommend it. There is nothing like running for a home club on home turf!
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In conjunction with Limelight Sports and the race sponsors Hoka, the club were represented by eight official race pacers for the half marathon event, and a 25+ strong team of club volunteers at one of the water/aid stations on Cadogan Terrace along the course by Victoria Park. We look forward to you joining us next year either as a running participant or one of the many race day volunteers making the Hackney Half a truly special day to celebrate our local running community.
Link to official results here.
