The London Landmarks Half Marathon is a hugely popular half marathon around some of the best sights in London. The twisty turny course takes you past St Pauls, along the Embankment with a nod to the London Marathon and past the Houses of Parliament over Westminster Bridge. The support is great. This year, Run Testers Nick and Kieran tackled the London Landmarks Half – on a very windy day – to give the HOKA Cielo X, the Saucony Endorphin Pro 4 and a host of other tech, the race test treatment. Hit play to see how they got on.
JUMP STRAIGHT IN:
0:00 – Intro
3:29 – The race
4:23 – Post-race reaction
8:10 – Kieran’s test verdict
11:01 – Nick’s test verdict
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Hey people welcome to the Run testers I'm here with Nick we we are at the Start of the London landmarks you can't See it cuz it's around the corner it's Very windy today they just a sign's just Blown over they're putting it back up so We're filming this in the shade yeah Trying to stay out the wind but we're About to go and run the Landon landmarks Half Nick what's going to be your Approach today today I'm two weeks out From London so I'm not going all out is The plan from the coach your idea is to Run a 11230 but actually might be pretty much Close to all out today given the wind um Trying to get dragged into any racing Sometimes it's quite a slow race here as Evidence by the year I won it but um I Don't think I'll be in any kind of race For the win or even top three probably So try to stay out of that and run a Steady Pace at you know just slightly Quicker the marathon pace it's getting Sucked in it'll get sucked in sucked in Wind's going to still be getting sucked In any how about you what are you doing Today and today I'm I'm basically I've Got Manchester next week so this one for Me I'm going to run four easy I'm going To do four at marathon pace then I'm Going to do four easy to go here and Then I'm going to do the last one yeah Tried to blank that one out into the
Headwood and then I I I don't know yeah I'm going to try not to get sucked into The race as well I want to be chasing Nick Last Mile be I mean that that no We'll have a headwind on that yeah yeah We last three miles are going to be into The headwind with a little turn with it So you can really accelerate there and Then hit the headwind again yeah it's Going to be a fun day out for me I think Just try and enjoy it and not do any Damage for the weekend but yeah and what Are you testing uh so shoe today is the Hocus yellow X1 I love the shoe it's Probably been one of my favorite Launches of the year I think I've Probably got the Alpha and the Met spe Paris ahead of it but I've just done a Week away where I've used it for all my Sessions I've Loved using it um and I Real think is the top class shoot is a Bit heavier than a lot of the ones out There so I'm going to put this a test of You know good hard run today that I Think will end up not far off all our Effort because of the conditions so yeah Looking forward to testing that I've got I've been testing the Epix Pro and the Apple watch Ultra long-term test Bic Versus long-term versus longterm Checking of both watches good test today Of GPS conditions is very twisty around The city here uh other than that nothing Really new I got the tsmith turnover
Tight huge fan of those nothing else Really new what about you Kier I am Going to be using the S endorphin Pro Four I think just I picked it primarily Because I think I've got to be doing Some slower miles I think it will cope With those slower miles better I'm Really interested to see what happens When I actually hit sort of marathon Pace in it as well and then I know it's Going to protect me when I drop back Down at the end yeah and then I'll be Able to use it for that last mile to Chase you down yeah definitely yeah and And yeah so I'm just I'm just interested To see how this goes I I know it's going To be sort of comfortable and cushioned And it's got you know the right amount Of stability for me later into those I Didn't really want to go for a like a Wobbly a wobbly sort of narrow platform Once your MTH and face it that's Probably going to be in the city isn't It the twist you so that'll be Interesting it's hard a time to do it But warmed up at least yeah we'll see We'll see if it yeah I I think it'll be All right cuz that means you have the Wind in your face that whole time cuz It'll be turning so much yeah yeah it be All right yeah I don't I I just want to I want I needed to give myself something To shoot at today but not to feel caged For the whole thing and it'll be an
Interesting test and then I'm also I'm Going to test a set set of headphones That we can't reveal right now but we'll Talk about that in a couple of weeks Time uh I've also going to be using the Polar vage V3 versus the grit X pro X2 Pro yeah and I've got the Garmin 4 and a 965 compared to a h10 so like uh just Looking at the heart rate and the Battery life and all those for those Watches GPS in the uh in the city as Well yeah and the GPS in the city and That's it for me we good well it should Be it's always very fun event I have to Say main thing we're looking at for Today almost certainly someone dressed The Shard that you SE who might get Blown blown into the river so good luck To them don't get blown over please and Everyone have a lcky day yeah yeah we'll See you on the other [Music] [Applause] [Music] Side [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] So race done 130 something for me SOC Endorphin Pro four did a really good job In that kind of run where they on the Easy miles plenty of cushion plenty of
Protection bit of energy when I picked Up the pace they also did a pretty good Job cornered well actually might take Away that off this half MTH but this is Definitely going to be the kind of shoe That a lot of people will enjoy running I think a half or full marathon in if They're not really sure what they're Going to get if you're worried how the Shoe might cope later on it's not one of Those shoes that really puts you on a Knife edge there's a bit more to it a Bit more protection and it felt good When I kicked back the pace in those Miles And yeah overall felt good so yeah Anyway I'll do a bit more back when I Get my head together but that is the London landmarks half done so I'm all Done uh ran a 1126 I think something Like that the last 3 miles were very Breezy so the idea was to try and run 530 miles the wind started get crazy a Bit wild uh so um I was running you know Up and down there it was hard to pace Around there anyway CU it's all little Burst uphill downhill and then hit the Kind of home straight which about 3 and A half miles mostly into the wind and Just kind of settled in a little bit Slower than 530 Ming cuz I didn't want To really push all out I was you know Really feeling it quite hard at that Point already so I didn't want to keep
Really kind of killing myself at that Stage because I was into the wi for a Long stretch but ran pretty well down The end there I think I was third Overall and just yeah hit the target Goal time around 1 1230 feeling really Good for the first half of the race Really comfortable and yeah all felt Very good shoes were quite interesting Today because they felt very good under Foot but the laces came said from the Start I don't like these laces I don't Trust these laces theyve never actually Come undone for me on the run before Before I've been triple knotting them Every single run triple knoted them Today but the right lace came undone uh Stop I stopped and did it up kind of Again around the S and a half mile Mark And after another half mile it came Undone again so I just round the rest of The race with it undone because it's Okay uh it's not like you're actually Probably going to stand on it or trip or Anything like that actually remember a Tour operator on a walking tour once Telling me it's a myth you never Actually stand on your own la so I had That in mind and I was fine and because Of the booty style fit of the shoe it Didn't actually become loose or anything Like that so it was okay to run Especially for the home straight where You're running a nice straight flat line
But yeah the laces are ridiculous on These shoes like I don't understand how You develop such a good shoe and then go Oh we'll put these laces on they're Terrible they feel terrible they don't Feel like they're going to stay done up Like I say triple knotted came undone Today um otherwise they felt very good Under Foot youly that's the big thing About the shoes they are very big and Bouncy like I didn't love the feel of The shoes in that last three miles into The wind because that's where the size And you know counts against a bit Because that's why I'd rather be in a Shoe like the aex metas spe Sky Paris Where you got the high turnover of a Lightweight shoe just feel was a bit Easier to keep you know cycling over and Cycling through these are very good they Boom you along with the wind certainly But yeah pushing into the wind of that Kind of thing when your legs are really Tiring so you just want a little bit Weight taken off proper look at the Watch's GPS when I get home they both Went a bit skui around the city the the Actually interesting the Apple watch Decided I was going really really fast Running sub five minute miles G thought I was running really really slow like Kind of 550 miles and I was running Pretty much a bang on a 530 mile when I Took the manual split so that's
Interesting I'm know it's a really tough Place to actually do GPS there's also a Tunnel near the end so that's all bit Bit tricky tracksmith turnover tights Huge fan of I think they're like the Most comfortable half tights out there They don't necessarily feel as racy as Some other ones cuz they're you know not As tight and compressed as some of Actually other tracksmith tights or saw Tights but they're so comfortable Storage is really good on them like if I Was using gels these are shorts I'd Probably use maybe for a marathon but Not sure theyve really put space for my Drinks system that I use but yeah all And all really fun day out I love this Half marathon it's very fun the pockets SP are amazing with all the Charities Out there it's really enjoyable you see A lot of landmarks as people dressed up Everyone's very friendly it's a really Good natured round half hour and one I Definitely recommend if you can get inly A balance system so if you can run for Charity that's really good that's the Way to do it but yeah it is a bit twisty And it was a bit Breezy today but it was A good fun day out all around so back Home then and I got round the London Landmarks half in a very happy 13036 and stuck largely to plan with Four miles at easy intensity four where I let loose a bit and then the final
Five I went back to easy now a quick Word on the race I love the landmarks Half it's a very twisty turny course Through London but you do take in a lot Of the great sites of London St Paul's Lots of all all the best bits really and I quite like the fact that you kind of Switch just as you're getting bored of Running in a straight line the support Is great it's almost like a lower key London Marathon Vibe out there it's Maybe not the perfect place to come Chasing a PB but I think it's a Fantastic race for everything else all The other things that you might go and Run for and I absolutely love the Finishing miles that take you along the Embankment past the houses of Parliament Over Westminster Bridge there's nothing Quite like running that stretch of London with the sun shining on a happy Morning knowing you've got one mile to Go and I would highly recommend this Race I think it's just a really fun one To do now onto the test gear now I can't Talk about the headphones I was testing But stay tuned to the channel for that Review that's coming sometime this week I also can't talk about the GPS and Heart rate performance for the polar V3 Versus the grit X Pro 2 as the final Software for the git X2 Pro hasn't been Released yet so again more on that to Come what I can talk about is the socc
Endorphin Pro that I'm holding here now This is my first race in the Pro 4 and I Chose them because I thought I'd they'd Have The mixed Pace race strategy that I had For today and that proved to be correct They were really protective and Comfortable with a bit of energy on the Earlier slower miles where I was running Like 730s or something it's the kind of Shoe you can Cruise in with decent sort Of reliable platform to run off unlike Some of the kind of more Razor Edge Carbon shoes that don't really play nice Unless you're running with sort of Proper intent you know this big stack of Foam soaks up any road impact there's no Harshness and the general kind on foot Comfort from sakon here I think is Topnotch then when I kicked up a gear to What was actually the half marathon pace For me so around got of 6 10 minute Miles for the four middle miles they Responded really well there's good Springing energy here but in a less Aggressive more sort of subtle way I Think than again some other carbon shoes So I don't think they're all out as Punchy as something like the asex Met Guy Paris which I'm going to run Manchester in but the upside to that With this Shue is that the Endorphin Pro 4 they've kind of got your back when Things aren't necessarily going
Perfectly I'd say you get like a smooth Reliable energy rather than out and out Electric propulsion from these shoes but That's not a bad thing if you got a Stable platform and for me they're Definitely a more accessible and Democratic carbon shoe and one that I Think we'll look after a much wider Range of Runners runs paces and levels Of sort good to bad form there's kind of A safety blanket carbon racer thing Going on here that might be less Lively But they're definitely less risky Overall too all around for this race They were acce today a kind of No Nonsense ride with no complaints from me These would certainly be a shoe I'd Reach for if I was running a marathon Where wasn't necessarily racing all Out so it's evening of the race uh I Want to do another quick wrap up of the Stuff I tested today especially the Watches because I've had a chance now to Look at the GPS Trace using their DC Rain maker analyzer quite surprised to Me actually the Garmin very clearly Outperformed the Apple watch when it Comes to the tricky bit around the city And in general even going through a Tunnel the Garmin had a pretty good Reading whereas the Apple watch just Kind of jumped out of whack it surprised Me cuz although I do think the Garmin Epic Pro is a bit better than the Apple
Watch in General on GPS I sometimes find In amongst big cities with big buildings And that kind of thing the Apple watch Sometimes comes into its own because it Uses the accelerometer and apple mapping Data but but today it was all out of Whack and it you know had me going very Fast at times so yeah a good win for the Garmin epics Pro today both very good GPS watches all around I'll say that but Yeah it was a bit more reliable today Obviously still struggled at times in The city but could use it more or less For most of the race to help me Pace you Know as I was trying to hold that Consistent Pace today hocus yellow like I said the big problem today was the Laces the shoe felt very good under fo In the last few miles maybe just Tad Heavy into the wind compared to some Other shoes but that could just be the Weight sticking in my mind a fair bit it Was still very bouncy just as a shuffle Runner like myself I think the high Cadence style means a light issue is Generally appreciated at the end of Races but was very good all around Lasers are a problem I can just replace Them on that shoe though anyone can do That it's just weird that hoker left Such quite poor laces on the shoe I Think track turnover tight it's one I Mention again these are really Comfortable types they are pretty pricey
The storage is really good though I Think if you are looking at a marathon Coming up think they're one of the top Options out there because the storage is Well done if you're using gels that is Like I say with bottles they won't all Fit in and they are exceptionally Comfortable tight so you can get them With or without a line out I think as Well so to suit your preferences so so Yeah they were very good around and yeah Landmarks was another great day out Really enjoyed myself met Eve mad who's One of my favorite people big fan of Eve Mad and British curling and I had a Great time watching all of her success During her career so that was a Big Thrill to meet her before the race so There you have it that has been our race Test at the London landmarks half we Hope you enjoyed it if you're interested In running the L marks the ballot opens Pretty soon and we'll drop a link into The caption below where you can find out More information about that if you're Interested in any of the shoes we've Mentioned here I'm going to put two Videos up on the channel right now for You to watch go check them out as ever Thanks for watching and we hope to see You again soon on the run test and happy Running people
