This race was a first for me, my first run in fancy dress and the outfit as you could guess was a full Gorilla outfit including face mask. This race came about following a brief conversation with a colleague where I said I was tempted to run it, to be fair I wasn’t that excited or up for it. Only to be told a few days later that they has signed up, so now there was no way I could back out of it. Heading over to greatgorillarun.org to sign up I noticed via their Facebook widget that through YPlan you could get a big discount, meaning that for only Thirty Pounds you could get race entry, with your full gorilla costume included too. So that was that, I was signed up and ready to run…
On the day the biggest decision was if I should wear the outfit on the tube there or just get changed on arrival, being tame that day I got changed on arrival. Once changed I met up with my running buddy for the day Amie, did some limbering up and checked out some of the more flamboyant efforts with some runners pimping their gorilla suits, big props to the gorilla sitting there drinking a pint of Guinness so early in the morning. We shuffled round to the start line, to the amusement of the local builders and then we were off.
Starting out near Fenchurch St. we were soon running alongside the beautiful Tower of London and onto Tower Bridge, giving the tourists a very unusual sight for their Saturday Morning sight-seeing trip, lots of iPhones were out attempting to capture the hundred gorillas crossing such an iconic London landmark. Once across the bridge it was down along the river and as we approached HMS Belfast, I sped up to avoid a collision with a tourist, looked round to see where Amie was to be greeted with a predictable but hilarious realisation that everyone looks almost identical, so decided to try to get a good time, even with the strange outfit. I kept a good pace down to the Tate Modern, it was then the time came for the mask to come off as it was simply too hot, my body dripping with sweat! We headed across Blackfriars Bridge to start the journey back to the finish line, taking in more beautiful sights and reminding me why I love this beautiful city I live in. Approaching the Tower of London near the finish was the pick me up I needed, I have been fascinated by the Tower since a child and still am to this day, with once last push I crossed the finish line, picked up the goodie bag and never was it more fitting to be given a banana post race….
Next year I will once again complete the Gorilla Run but I want to run with a big group of friends, so much fun!!
