The Ultimate Social Run

Forget pace calculators, I predict my race times by looking at the elite times and roughly doubling them. Without even training for a marathon, I know from Denis Kimetto's recent world record of 2:02:57, I'd take longer than 4 hours if I were to run one. That's a long, lonely wait if he were to wait for me to finish.

That's the problem with long distances. It's brilliant to have a whole group of friends at the same event but if they're of differing abilities, someone's going to be waiting around after smashing a few speed limits and someone else will start to get quite lonely out on the course as they desperately try to finish before everyone gets fed up and leaves.

But over a mile? I'd only be about 3 minutes behind first place and the slowest person would roll in with barely enough time for me to recover. An average walker could finish the course in around 15 minutes, that's not long to wait around even if you're a speedster.

It's the ultimate social distance.

Finish times aside, the small distance is one anyone can tackle. Our primary school cross-country course was a mile and I'm pretty sure my non-active friends could give it a whirl, even with no training. The young, old, elite or unfit could all attempt a mile run.

Saying that, if you want to test yourself over the distance, be prepared for a pretty unpleasant few minutes. Not quite a sprint but certainly fast, running a mile will make you feel like your legs will fall off and your lungs will explode. At least, that's how I felt at the launch of the Amba Hotels City of London Mile, where I tested out the distance. Running's a funny thing, though. Despite the ear ache and slight feeling of nausea, my mind started to plot how to shave off a few valuable seconds.

The race on Sunday 14th June will see runners of all ability take on the distance in the heart of London next to some of the most iconic parts of the city. With race waves for the elite, club runners, new runners, wheelchair racers and kids, everyone can take part. What's more, it's absolutely free, which leaves very few excuses to not enter.

Join me and register for the Amba Hotels City of London Mile, here.