While staying in the team hotel, they had a Q&A session with New Balance-sponsored athlete Ciara Mageeran, European 1500m champion, which gave them a terrific opportunity to understand the dedication and training required to get to the top level of international running.
The race itself is over the last 2.6km of the marathon course, and it starts in Westminster and passes Buckingham Palace before finishing in the Mall. George was first up in the U15 boys, and after a terrific start, worked his way through the field to finish 13th, a mere 17 seconds behind the winner. Raya, being a year younger than most of her competitors, found the initial pace a bit quick, but after the first kilometre found herself passing a lot of runners on the second half of the course to finish 38th, and with another year in the age group, will look to get into the top 10 next year.
It was a great experience for both athletes, who now turn their attention to the track season, looking for personal bests in the coming months.