Race day.
After months of training with Harry Norman from Third Space the ELLE Fit team finally ran the Royal Parks Foundation half marathon.
Up and out at the crack of dawn we met at Knightsbridge station, all of us with the same anxious grin on our faces and butterflies in our stomach.
The sea of lycra and race numbers that filed through Hyde Park left no confusion as to where we had to go to reach the starting area.
It was nice to know that we weren't alone in our madness to run 13.1 miles on a Sunday morning.
We made our way to the start line with the other 15,995 runners and did a few stretches to make us look like we knew what we were letting ourselves in for (all that 3D hamstring activation work with Harry had quickly gone out the window).
Our playlists were on and trackers were set for the 2 hours of running (and pain) that was ahead of us.
Before we knew it we were off.
To begin with we seemed to be swept away by the hundreds of people that surrounded us and the thousands behind that were jostling forward, anxious to just get going.
But within a few miles we had established ourselves within the pack and it was time to get our heads down, set a steady pace and get the job done.
Throughout the race there was an overwhelming amount of support from the crowds and charities - it definitely kept us going through those tricky miles 7-10.
Some of the stand out moments from the race included a family that were following their mum on Boris bike's down The Mall, children handing out orange slices and a grumpy steward chomping on a curly wurly.
It may seem trivial to some, but it was the entertainment we needed to keep going and finish in amazing time.
The team share their highlights here:
Rachel Macbeth, PA to Editor-In-Chief & Editorial Assistant
I still can't believe I actually did it. I think my 'pinch me' moment was running down the mall towards Buckingham Palace, it was so iconic.
Cat Pykett, Deputy Picture Editor
The scene of sportsmanship and the enthusiasm of the spectators was incredible. I don't think I could have got through those final few miles without them.
Hannah Nathanson, Commissioning Editor
I got quite emotional seeing all the people lining the course in the park and all the charities cheering their runners, or maybe that was just my legs hurting.
The ELLE Fit team would like to thank Harry Norman and Third Space Gym for their support throughout our training programme.
We would also like to say a massive thank you to all those that sponsored us on our Just Giving page where we are collecting donations for Mind, the mental health charity.
