The Runthrough Battersea races are a popular choice for runners looking for a PB due to a flat course that’s protected from the wind. Tom took on the race hoping to get the sub-80 he’s been eyeing up for a while.
To take on the event he was testing out the Hoka Rocket X2, a fast, lightweight shoe that’s one of the year’s best carbon plate racers.
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00:41 – Battersea Park Half Marathon Race Review
06:31 – Hoka Rocket X2
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Hey Tomy from the Run testers I am down At Battery Park today doing the run Through Battery Park half marathon it's Been two months since Berlin my training Has gone down a bit I did want to get a Sub 120 in this race a while ago when I Was planning out my training um but I Don't think I'm going to get it today I've definitely not done the training For it but um it's a pretty nice day It's um quite windy but it's in the park So there's lots of trees so it's a good Day for it I'm going to be testing out The uh Hawker rocket x2s cuz I've never Used those for a half marathon right Let's get set up and do the Race [Music] [Music] Yeah [Applause] [Music] Right so that's done didn't go to PB It's pretty tough out there today there Was a lot of people uh and I'm Definitely not as fit as I was two Months ago when I to Berlin so I think I Got about 1 hour 20 4 minutes uh it's Pretty wet here it's uh raining so I'm Going to record the rest of this at home See in a bit so I'm back now in the warm From the run through battery half Marathon and it was a tough one I used To do run throughs all the time I used
To live in London I used to have a Season pass so I used to do like three Run through races a week I did more Races than I did training uh a few years Ago um but back in those days there There weren't really many half marathons That run run through organized so uh I Mainly did 10ks and 5Ks the battery half Marathon is an interesting race because It is nine laps of Battery Park which I'm not a big fan of laps normally Unless I'm training and I'm trying to do A consistent pace so nine laps of bsy Park was a pretty tough mental struggle To do it was the weather wasn't too bad When we started it was it wasn't too Cold um and it was pretty nice to be Honest baty Park is obviously lined with Trees so even when it's windy it's Really protected from the wind and today It was absolutely perfect problem with Today's race was that there were a lot Of people doing it so when you're doing Nine laps of a 2.5k course uh I think There's about 1,100 maybe 1,200 people Doing the Race um when you're coming Around doing lots of laps you tend to Catch up with a lot of people that are Running in the sort of slower groups and What I found is that there were quite Big groups of people that were really Hard to get past so it wasn't an ideal Day for running Fast but that wasn't the only reason
That I didn't um have a great time out There I was pretty much in great Condition for Berlin I was doing my Perfect training I got my 253 um Marathon in Berlin two weeks later I did A 10k race and I got 3733 which is a PB By about 35 seconds for me so I was in Pretty good shape then since then I've Sort of gone downhill a bit I hav done AB any marathon but I kind of jogged it Um and I've not really been keeping it With my speed training so in today's Race when I signed up a while back I Planned to do a sub 120 today um and I Didn't manage that I managed a 125 um Largely because i' I've lost the fitness Um but I did find that nine laap um Course quite hard mentally to deal with I'm the sort of Runner that I quite like Doing half marathons in cities and Things like that where you're sort of Going around different places all the Time and it's a new road to go on it's a Bit more exciting um whereas this one It's really you've got to get in the Right head space for it you've got to You got to knuckle down and just go for It if you're going for a fast time it is A good one if you the laps really do Help you time your pace so you can Really start planning how fast you're Going based on the laps that you're Doing and retain a consistent Pace as Well there's also no sharp turns or
Anything like that it's basically a Circle so you can it's really easy to Maintain a consistent Pace um around There as long as there's not loads of People in the way um I spoke to a guy Afterwards who said but um he did it a While back and there was only a couple Of hundred people doing it and it was The perfect conditions for a fast race So just bear that in mind it is Definitely a fast course it's definitely A really good one if you want to get a PB but it can get busy the weather was Fine up until uh about the last uh 5 km For me where it started to rain a bit Wasn't too bad perfect timing for it so I didn't mind a bit of rain then I was Struggling a bit and um a bit of cool Water on the face didn't hurt at all but Organization was really good Marshalls Were great um there's a water station on Every lap uh in the same position it Works out quite well from an Organizational point of view because you Basically just set everything up at the Start of the race um and the crowds are Good as well there were a lot of people There cheering so enjoyable day uh but I Didn't get a time I wanted so I think Next year I'm going to try and going for That Sub20 half marathon probably try and Time it a little bit closer to uh after Um Boston Marathon where I'm going to
Hopefully be quite fit uh and try and um Get some faster times in after that but At the moment I am not in Peak Fitness So it was a bit of a tough one um as We've all run through races there's lots Of stuff you get as well so after you Finish the race there is there are loads Of snacks and drinks and things like That it's really good for um stuff like That it's also very quick and easy as Well the good thing about run through Races is that unlike some of the big Races that you do where you have to get There quite early there's a lot of Wandering around putting your bags away Queuing up for things none of that run Through event it's very quick you just Get there get your bib drop your bag off And you're done so you don't really need To get there really early you can get There quite late on uh there were a lot Of races that I used to do where I just Turned up about 5 minutes before and Just set off so really good race if you Just want to get there get it done and Get out of there oh yeah and you get a Nice medal as well so always a big fan Of the uh run through medals uh very Nice Indeed Okay so the kit I was testing uh today Was the Hawker rocket X2 now I know it's Not a new shoe um but I've never used The hakar rocket X2 for a half marathon
Race I've only used it for 10K distance And I think what I said in some of the Reviews uh that we did early on for this Shoe is that because this is a bit of a Leaner shoe I like a lot of cushioning I'm a big fan of things like the Alphafly and the soc endorphin Pro 3 um I said I wouldn't want to go up maybe Further than half marathon distance in This shoe just cuz it's a little bit too Light and there's not enough padding for Me um so I wanted to get it a go of half Marathon resistance just to see if that Was indeed the case um I'm a big fan of The Hwy rocket X2 I think it's the best Race shoe that Hawker has ever made um I've used it for quite a few 5Ks and 10ks now and found it to be a really Fast Nimble poppy shoe that just works Really well um just feels very light on The feet it's a really great shoe um but As I say it I didn't think it' work for Me at Half Marathon distance and Definitely not Marathon distance so I Found over the course of that run is That it it was what I expected it didn't Feel very cushioned um especially in the Later uh kilometers of that race uh it Felt very fast I definitely could Maintain a really nice quick Pace uh for The first 10K which um I got almost Close to my 10K PB time in in in the Half marathon probably shouldn't have Probably should have ped a bit better um
But it is a very fast shoe uh and does Feel really good but what I would say is That it doesn't feel like it does a lot For me I really like the feel of Something like the alphafly where you Can just feel your uh that zoomx phone Squishing as you're running in it and it Gives you that bounce back as well also Feels really padded on the feet so it's Very comfortable to run in when you're Doing longer distance races vaporfly 3 Is quite similar it's a little bit Softer now um definitely definitely Softer than the Haw rocket X too um so I Definitely felt that during that race I Just needed a little bit more padding a Bit more cushioning um in the L stages Of it wasn't bad a bad test for the shoe It's definitely one of the top carbon Plate Racers I've got for for for racing In and um I I don't think it's a bad Half marathon shoe at all just for me I Think it's lacking a little bit of that Padding uh and bounce that I like to Have from my carbon plate shoes um other Thing I would say about it is is that um I did glue I've had a bit of a major Issue recently where I keep ripping off The outsole of shoes um and this one Came off after the first 10K I did in it Um I glued it on with um some special Shoe glue um and it worked quite well Over shorter distances so it held on Quite well when I was doing 5Ks and 10ks
Um interval sessions and stuff like that Half marathon I could feel it coming off At about uh 12K 13k it just it just fell Fell on the ground I could feel it Slapping so yeah don't know what's going On with my running at the moment but I Definitely got an issue with um some Sort of heel um scraping across the Floor which is causing a bit of an issue Uh especially with these expensive shoes Uh so yeah so I would say that that I Was pretty impressed with the HW rocket X2 over that distance and I think for Some people it would be absolutely Fantastic I know um some of the other Onesta is a big fans of this shoe even For long distances but for me and if you Like lots of padding and B and zoomx Foam and that sort of thing uh it may Just be a little bit lean for you it Felt but other than that it did feel Really really fast so that's it from my Bassy Park half marathon not the most Successful race I've done for a while But definitely a bit of an eye opener in Terms of the training that I need to be Doing I will be heading back down to Track tomorrow night to to pick up my Speed training again because there's a Few races I've got coming up in the new Year that I want to try and get a PB at Um but other than that well organized Race just a little bit busy for me and Really struggled with those laps thanks
Lot for watching catch you next Time