Behind the Scenes at IAAF World Championships 2017 [Part 4]

Surreal. That's one of many adjectives I could use to describe my experience of the IAAF World Championships in London over the course of the last ten days!

When I was invited to partner with Skype's SPIKES bot in attending the championships, I had little idea of what lay ahead.

Believe it or not, this was my first major athletics event. I've watched all kinds of live sporting events, all over the world, but never world-class athletics - the action certainly didn't disappoint!

However, I was most blown away by the atmosphere, the crowd, the volunteers, and in particular what a fast pace each session at the stadium flew past with.

I know I was there with a job to do - creating social media content - but there was always something I wanted to see in the next minute or two. It called for some careful time management.

Of course, it was a privilege to be there for Usain Bolt's final individual race, and to see Mo Farah call time on his track career. However learning more about athletes like Qatari High Jumper Mutaz Barshim was a real highlight of my week.

It'll be no surprise to know I've been very run focused in my watching of athletics in the past, so expanding my horizons in terms of watching more jumps and throws has been fascinating.

Then there's Hero the Hedgehog...

📹 Not the Hero London needs. The Hero London deserves.

For one more time tonight #BeTheNext #HEROtheHedgehog pic.twitter.com/beIV8ezwC4

— IAAF World Champs (@IAAFWorldChamps) August 13, 2017

This guy (well, I think Hero is male, else he'd be called Heroine??) has single handedly captured the imagination of the audience, and raised the bar for future mascots!

I've become a little obsessed.

Amazing finish to the Women's 5,000m final here at the #iaafworldchamps. I took this just before the BIG kick from Obiri 🏃🏿‍♀️💨 Wow!! I'm here in partnership with @skype's SPIKES bot - check it out for all the latest athletics news, highlights and insights! #ad

A post shared by Running Motivation & Tips 💪 (@kineticrev) on Aug 13, 2017 at 12:45pm PDT

The evening finished with the Women's and Men's 4x400m relays, which provided a fantastic crescendo to the Championships. Before that though, I was lucky to witness Helen Obiri unleash a monstrous kick coming onto the home straight to win gold in the Women's 5000m, leaving Almaz Ayana in her wake.

There are so many moments from the last ten days that will raise a smile as they come back to me in the next few weeks. An added bonus side effect is that watching the Championships has me now feeling super-motivated to get more focused in my own running. As a result, I've just entered a half marathon later in the year...

Has the IAAF World Championships left you feeling the same?