Richmond Running Festival

Welcome Runners to London's most exclusive race, the Richmond RunFest!

When:

Saturday 14th September 2019

Kew Gardens 10k (All inside Kew Gardens)
Richmond 5K: The Pirate Run (Old Deer Park)
Kids' Mile Races (Old Deer Park)

Sunday 15th September 2019

Richmond Marathon and Half Marathon (Starts at Kew Gardens, finishes Old Deer Park)
NIKE Family Funrun (Old Deer Park)

Kew Gardens 10k Race Start

The Orangery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. You MUST enter via Elizabeth Gate Entrance, Kew Green, TW9 3AB.

Race Start Time: 8.30am

Richmond 5k

Old Deer Park (next to Pools on the Park Leisure Centre), Twickenham Rd, Richmond TW9 2SF. Click here

Registration Opens: TBC

The 5k Run is a loop of Old Deer Park. The course is all on grass and the Pirate themed cheer points will keep the fun going until the finish where every finisher gets a great medal and Nike tee!

Kids' Miles races Start and Finish Location

Old Deer Park (next to Pools on the Park Leisure Centre), Twickenham Rd, Richmond TW9 2SF. Click here

Registration Opens: 1pm

The Kids races are staggered throughout the afternoon and will run from 2pm - 4.30pm. Race times will be emailed to all participants prior to the race.

Richmond Marathon & Half Marathon Race Start location

The Broadwalk, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. You MUST enter via Elizabeth Gate Entrance, Kew Green, TW9 3AB

Richmond Marathon Start Time: First wave at 8am

Richmond Half Marathon Start Time: First wave at 8.55am

Richmond Marathon & Half Marathon Race Finish Location

Both the Marathon and Half finish a mile from Kew Gardens in Old Deer Park (next to Pools on the Park Leisure Centre), Twickenham Rd, Richmond TW9 2SF. Your bags will be safely transported to the finish.

Distances:

Full Marathon: minimun age - 18 on day of race

Half Marathon: minimum age - 17 on day of race

10km: minimum age - 15 on day of race

5km: minimum age - 13 on day of race

Kids races: ages 5-16 years on day of race

Full Marathon pacers and predicted finishing times:

3.10 hrs, 3.30 hrs, 4hrs, 4.30hrs, 4.45 hrs, 5hrs

Half Marathon pacers and predicted finishing times:

1.30 hrs, 1.45 hrs, 2 hrs, 2.15 hrs, 2.30 hrs

10km pacers and predicted finishing times:

40 mins, 45 mins, 50 mins, 55 mins, 60 mins, 65 mins, 70 mins

5km - no pacers, no restrictions!

Although the 5km is chip-timed, it is a fun run for all abilities whether you have a sub 24 minute Parkrun PB or just want to walk it!

Terrain:

Kew Gardens 10K: All on road and path inside Kew Gardens. Flat and fast!

Half and full marathon: Mixed surfaces: road, towpath and grass. Flat and fast!

Course is NOT hilly! Woohoo!

Water stations:

We have water stations at 3.75 miles, 7.09 miles, 9.95 miles, 12.27 miles, 15.5 miles, 17.84 miles, 20.18 miles, 22.37 miles, 24.36 miles and at the finish our hydration partner Lucozade Sport will hydrate you with their new FitWater. This purified spring water contains 4 key electrolytes with zero calories.

With special thanks to Lucozade Sport, our Official Sports Drink Partner, we have the following Lucozade Sport fuel stations:

In the 10k, there will be a water station at 4.6 miles. Lucozade Sport will be waiting for you at the finish.
In the half marathon, Lucozade Sport will be available at 7.09 miles, 12.27 miles.
In the marathon, Lucozade Sport will be available at 7.09 miles, 12.27 miles, 17.84 miles, 24.36 miles.
On-course support will be 380ml bottles of Lucozade Sport Orange and at the finish you will be rewarded with 500ml bottles of Lucozade Sport Mixed Flavours (Raspberry, Brazilian Guava, Mango and Passion Fruit and Caribbean Cruch).

First Aid:

Full professional cover in place throughout the course.

Marshals:

The entire course will be fully marshalled. Marshals are volunteers so please say thanks to these amazing people!

Sweep Marshals:

A sweep marshal will be present to assist athletes who do not complete the course and will be transported to the finish line.

RACE DAY

We strongly advise all runners, regardless of which race you are competing in, to arrive more than 1 hour before your race. Any late comers who arrive after 8.40 am for the 10k and 9.15 am for the Half Marathon will be denied entry and will not be able to take part in the race. Friends and family who arrive late will have to pay a normal Kew Gardens ticket (visit Kew Gardens website for prices).

Please take weekend public transport timetables and delays into consideration. There are facilities in Kew Gardens serving hot drinks and food so come early and enjoy the surroundings before your run.

Parking is unavailable at Kew Gardens and we strongly advise participants to travel to Kew Gardens via public transport. If you are driving, we suggest you park in Richmond and travel to the start via public transport (bus/ train) or on foot.

Suggested car park is next to Richmond Station

NCP car park - Richmond Station, Drummond Place, Kew Road, Richmond, TW9 1DN

Richmond Fitness Expo and Music Festival in Old Deer Park

The finish line festival in Old Deer Park will open at 9 am for friends and family wanting a prime finish line spot and our stalls will commence sales at 9.00am.

Your Richmond RUNFEST medal, NIKE technical t-shirt and free beer will be proudly given to you after the race. The festival stalls will be manned by a variety of local businesses and retailers to entice the whole family.

Please see our Richmond Fitness Expo page for more information.

A community event like this cannot happen without lots of volunteers. If any friends or family members want to get involved in the race they will receive a NIKE T-shirt, a free beer and a burger. Click here to sign up.

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Our amazing Psychologist has kindly shared us with some tip for race day!

Dr Carla Meijen, sport psychologist and senior lecturer in applied sport psychology at St Mary’s University has put together some last minute mental tips. These tips can help with mental demands such as worries about sticking to your race plan, or coping with the pain and discomfort of running a (half) marathon.

Advice for before race day:

Be flexible in your goals, and do not rely on just one time-based goal
Many runners have a time-based goal in mind, like a ‘do or die’ goal; it can be helpful to expand on this and have flexibility in your goals. One approach is to set different levels of goals. For example setting a dream goal, for when the conditions on race day are perfect. Next, set a goal that they would still be happy with when the conditions are less than perfect. Finally, identify a goal that would be the bare minimum, if things don’t go to plan. Having these three layers of goals can help to avoid disappointment and frustration during the (half) marathon if that ‘do or die’ goal turns out to be hard to achieve on the day. On race day you want your focus to be on the task like your running stride and in your training you can set goals to help with this, such as focusing on keeping a smooth stride when you get tired.

Breaking the race down in parts
Consider splitting up the race into different parts, especially if you have not run a (half) marathon before. Think about the (half) marathon as having three different parts and have a goal for each part, these don’t have to be time-based goals. You can have a goal for each of the three laps. Or as another example, you can consider using the first couple of miles to take in the sights, atmosphere, and get comfortable with your pace. The next 5 miles are about trying to intensify the effort. For the final miles you want to be totally focused, monitor how you’re feeling and if things are going to plan go for a full-out effort to the finish line.

Prepare in order to help reduce worries on the day
If you have not participated in a race before – you may feel worried about what to expect on the day. There will always be factors out of their control, but runners can prepare for those they can control. Do the necessary preparation before, and know the course – where are the water stations? How will you travel to the race? Have you planned for the weather on race day? It is recommended that you practice your routine before and during one of the longer training runs, and make a check list based on this that they can use to help them feel more at ease.

Advice for race day:

Run your own race
The atmosphere at an event like the Richmond RUNFEST is inspiring with the amazing (flat!) course and the start in Kew Gardens. It is also easy to get carried away on the day; with other runners around there is a risk of starting at a faster pace than you are used to and being worn out early on. Focus on running your own race. There are also pacers on the day, and this can help with not starting too fast and run an even pace.

Recall successful training runs
Trust your training and if you are struggling during the race, recall those successful training runs to remember your own ability. These positive experiences can give you confidence that it can be done. You can recall what helped you through longer runs, it may have been an inspiring song, something you say to yourself (‘I will keep a steady pace’, ‘keep going’, ‘relax those shoulders’) or a reason you have for running the half marathon.

Have a mantra
Having a mantra can be very helpful, so pick one that has worked for in training and use that during the race. Some runners write this on their hand, or somewhere they can see it during the race as a reminder.

Focusing
There will be a time during the race when your body starts to feel tired and sore. Some runners may find it helpful to distract themselves when this happens, for example focusing on the sights or replaying a song in their mind. Other runners prefer to focus on how their body feels and use breathing as a strategy to keep focused. You should go with the one they feel most comfortable with. And you can consider the next piece of advice:

Smile!
Recent research by Dr Noel Brick (Ulster University) found that using smiling as a strategy during running can give you the feeling that the activity costs less energy, and it can help to relax. So on the course, look for that friendly face that will make you smile and give you that extra boost of energy.

After the event:

Reward yourself!
Remember to reward yourself for the achievement, enjoy the finish festival and celebrate with the other runners, your family/friends, and also remember to reflect on what you have achieved.

Marathon

Start Time: 8:00am