King's College London

It was University Mental Health Day on the 7^th of March and I was itching to do something really positive for my mental health and myself. The perfect opportunity presented itself as King’s Sport had organised the Great King’s Run on the 10^th. Before I could even question my decision to run 5K around the Thames, I bought a ticket!

Waking up on Sunday morning, the first challenge was making sure I didn’t flop back into bed. I’d been looking forward to the run for about a week, although slightly apprehensive about going it alone. Then again, I did have Reggie the lion, the university mascot, on Snapchat to keep me company!

It was great to speak to other runners once I’d registered and collected my t-shirt and race number; some were running 10K (absolutely amazing!) or 5K like me, others were doing the colour run, which sounded incredibly fun, especially with your friends as a team.

The group warm-up before we all set off was fantastic! There was so much energy and enthusiasm from over 300 of us, despite the weather not being on our side. Honestly, I was worried at first, I thought I’d struggle to complete the 5K but everybody around me was so encouraging and I was so grateful to be around such positivity. Every volunteer guiding us on our route was cheering us on and it felt phenomenal, mentally and physically, to complete the run! Even passers-by were chanting encouragement and motivation as we ran past. Not to mention, the river was so beautiful and the London landmarks so striking, even with the wind blowing in my eyes.

Running the Great King’s Run was a great confidence booster and motivation for the week ahead. Well done everybody! If you want to see more photos, head to our Instagram and the King’s Sport Facebook!