As an ex-Met Police Civil Staff and ex-Special Constable and a current Met Volunteer, I am eligible to take part in the Met 10K on Wednesday morning of 18th May 2022 at the Battersea Park. It was so nice to catch up with some of my old chums. I bumped into our Comets fellow member Jacqui Reid as well. The “Power of the fern” running tops showing up in memory of Sergeant Matt Ratana has absolutely blown me away. I must admit it was genuinely had me welling up.
It was a great event with glorious weather. A big shout out to the organisers Aidan Kelly and Paul Hollis for their hard work bringing it together. It was so worth it to take a day off from work to come to run the Met 10K. For the registration fees of £12 (plus optional donation), all finishers receive a medal. There are trophies for the fastest man and fastest lady, fastest men’s’ team and fastest lady’s team. This event is fully time chipped (http://results.eventchiptiming.com/Results.aspx?CId=16202&RId=12071). All proceeds after paying for the costs of venue hiring, medals, trophies, time chips and refreshments, will be donated to Police Survivors charity.
The Met 10K is a very competitive event and the standard is high with the winning man finishing in 35 minutes and the winning lady finishing in 39 minutes. There is the friendly side of it with all the camaraderie, support and a spirit of good will. It was a privilege to take part in this event, a feeling that’s reinforced by meeting so many police officers who keep London safe. Oh, and the Commissioner Stephen House who not only came to fire the start gun but also ran along with us for the entire 10k and then to present trophies to the winners afterwards. Such a Top-Notch folk.
I finished in 1 hour 6 minutes 51 seconds. I’d take it as it was quite a warm morning. I couldn’t push to sub 1 hour. Even Jacqui couldn’t push for sub 50 minutes like she usually does as the weather was a bit too warm. She finished in 55 minutes 39 seconds.
After crossing the finish line and picking up my medal, I asked a lady with a baby pram who was spectating whether she would mind taking a photo of me beneath the finish arch. I asked whether she was waiting for someone to finish. She said she lives nearby and just taking her child to walk in the park. She knew nothing about this race. She just saw so many runners so she decided to stop and watch us. I told her it was the Met Police 10k race. She then asked me: “Oh wow, there so many police running in this park, who is going to catch the criminals in London?” I then told her: “I’m sure the police will have some back-up.” We both laughed out loud ♥
