Last stop: St Pancras.

We had been up since 4.30am UK time, and the last leg was starting at 18.15: it had already been a long day. Now we faced a 10km run. 

Everyone had been fed, watered and massaged, and off we headed on the coach to Regent’s Park. As we reached the start, it was so nice to see the G/great British public out to support us all especially as the rain had begun to come down.

We started with a warm-up to some of the acts that were playing on the stage, both to entertain the spectators and keep the competitors motivated! Another great motivator was news that we had a glass of champagne and BBQ awaiting us at the end!

Unfortunately, after 5km I had to pull out due to cramp in my left leg, which had started in the bike race. But on went everyone else with Jonny Brownlee coming in first with an impressive 34 minutes! As everyone else passed the finish line, there was a sense of such great achievement by all, no matter what standard of athlete.  Out of 140 athletes, 100 completed all three legs – an amazing achievement.

The whole day was a fantastic experience and one that no-one will forget I am sure. We swam, cycled and ran through three major European cities in one day! There was great camaraderie between all, no matter what level of participant and fantastic encouragement from those on the sidelines.

A big thanks to Eurostar, IMG, the athletes and the volunteers who pushed us though each leg and made such an amazing experience possible. I’m looking forward to the next Eurostar 2012 activation event!  

Definitely a story for the grandkids…

Read about the first leg (swimming in Paris) here, and the second (cycling in Brussels) here

On Sunday, I joined about 3,700 other runners in the 10k Newham London Run around the Olympic Park.

Despite the bright spring sunshine, it was very, very cold waiting for the start at Stratford Park at 9.30 yesterday morning. (Ice in the portaloos, anyone?)

I was part of the green wave (rather wishing it was actually a warm green room!) who set off third out of four groups. When we finally got going, it was great to run past local girl and Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu who had officially started the race along with the Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales. I wonder if her arms ache from waving to everyone from her position on the starters platform?

We ran into the Olympic Park before heading on to West Ham Park, along part of The Greenway (looking at the beautiful outside of Abbey Mills Pumping Centre - nice to look at, less nice to smell!) and Stratford town centre. Running right up to the Olympic Stadium was very cool – and it was great to see the inspiring posters of Olympic athletes on the hoardings around the stadium.

The mood around the route was really positive, with lots of residents hanging out of windows to cheer us on, and others watching the race in the parks and streets. It was also great to see such a diverse, multicultural crowd of runners: there were all ages and abilities, all joining in the event.

It was the first 10k I’ve ever completed and I’m pleased with my (personal best!) time of 56 minutes and 4 seconds, even if that is a little short of the winners: Jacob Howe in 36 minutes 34 seconds and Sylvie Lloyd in 39 minutes 37 seconds. Overall, I came 1141st.

Thanks to everyone who helped organize such a great event, and congratulations to everyone who took part.

Were you there? Let us know what you thought of the event in the comments below!

There are a fair few fantastic-sounding fundraisers taking place in London this month. Take your pick from one of these:

Kensal Town Fund Benefit Gig at the Masons Arms: 12 Feb
Compere Mark Haynes leads a night of music in aid of Haiti at the Masons Arms in Kensal Green. Acts include Cheyne Pride as Queen Ceole, DJs Guya and Ben Cullum, the Left Step Band and The Loves MC. £8 before 9pm; £10 after, with all proceeds going to Haiti.
www.thesourcemag.net

Fashion for Relief London at Somerset House: 18 Feb
Supermodel Naomi Campbell is taking advantage of all the attention London will be getting during London Fashion Week to raise cash for long-term healthcare for mothers and babies in Haiti with the White Ribbon Alliance. If you’ve always wanted to take a seat at a Somerset House catwalk during Fashion Week, here’s your chance; and you’ll be raising money for a good cause. Standard tickets are £75; dig deep to sit with the VIPs: premium seats cost between £400 and £650.
www.whiteribbonalliance.org

Funny Undie Run at St Katharine Docks: 19 Feb
Three laps around St Katharine’s Docks in your underwear? Why not! Partici-pants in the Funny Undie Run are hoping to raise £10,000 for the people of Haiti, and have a good giggle at the same time. Places are limited, so if you want to join in, get in touch now!
www.skdocks.co.uk/funny-undie-run-for-haiti

A Night for Haiti at the Clapham Grand: 19 Feb
XFM’s Pete Donaldson has got together some fab names from the UK music scene for this Action Against Hunger fundraiser. As well as DJ sets from Foals and New Young Pony Club, The Boxer Rebellion and Eliza Doolittle will be playing live. Head down for a night of great music, the chance to see the newly revamped Clapham Grand and party in the knowledge its all for a great cause. Tickets are £15.
www.ticketweb.co.uk

Haiti Earthquake Fundraiser at The Roundhouse: 25 Feb
Here’s another tasty concert line-up: KT Tunstall, Paul Weller, Bombay Bicycle Club, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, Magic Numbers, Mr Hudson, Othello Woolf, Seasick Steve and The Futureheads. And there’s every chance there’ll be more people added to the bill in the coming days. All the proceeds from this concert at The Roundhouse help the humanitarian aid efforts of both ActionAid and Médecins Sans Frontières. Tickets cost £40.
www.haitiearthquakefundraiser.com

Jungle Pop at The Adelaide in Primrose Hill: 6 Mar
Head deep into the jungle without leaving London, all to raise money for orphans in Haiti. Join 500 others for a Caribbean-styled jungle dance-a-thon at The Adelaide in North London, complete with dance performances, tropical cocktails and drums! The night costs £10 in advance to www.justgiving.com/pop4haiti or £20 at the door. 100% of all funds go directly to POP (the Play Our Part charity).

If you have details of any more London fundraisers for Haiti, please feel free to add them to the comments below.

There was a tangible sense of excitement in the Visit London offices when the suit arrived in the post and it did not disappoint.  

I’m not really sure how to describe it; any description just would not do it justice, from the full rubber face mask, to the all-in-one furry suit. There’s even a set of gorilla gloves – just in case my human hands would give away the fact that I’m not a real gorilla!

The only thing the suit doesn’t have is any kind of ventilation, but I have to say, I do love it. Who wouldn’t love to own a gorilla suit? I’ll never have an excuse not to go to a fancy dress party!

So once I had the suit, my attention turned to training. I’m lucky that I’m already training to run a marathon next month, so my fitness is OK. But running a marathon and running a four-mile race dressed as a gorilla are completely different things.

Michael Phelps has won countless medals in the swimming pool, but I would like to see him do it dressed as a shark…

I tried running up and down the stairs wearing every jumper and rugby top I own; I turned the heating up and ate a vindaloo with a scarf wrapped around my head; nothing quite recreates the feeling of unstoppable sweating.

So in the end there was only one thing I could do – yesterday afternoon I donned the suit and went for a run around work. Apart from getting my photo taken by tourists, scaring children and having every CCTV camera in the area watching me, it went very well and I think I’m ready for Saturday.

If you want to come along to one of the most fun events London has to offer, bring your bananas and cameras, and your best supporting voices and position yourself along the route to enjoy what will be a great London day out.

Oh, and look out for Chris the Gorilla who will be wearing a Visit London T-shirt too.

Find out why Chris entered The Great Gorilla Run