“With thanks to Angela Egan for this great report.”
The Morrison’s Great North Run is one of the biggest running events in the world. It is iconic, with thousands running it and millions watching it on television each year. This year 57,000 people took part many of whom were running for charity It is a race like no other and I was just over the moon which I got a place through the ballot. It is a challenging half marathon that starts in the canter of Newcastle and ends on the coast at South Shields. Plenty of hills to deal with and the congestion, heat and humidity made running conditions difficult.
Accommodation in Newcastle was impossible to get unless you were willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money for a room and the cost of flights were no better. I therefore booked a flight into Edinburgh and we planned to make a weekend of it (my husband Pat who is my loyal supporter agreed to take on this journey with me) The journey to Newcastle was tiring and not a great preparation for doing a half marathon, however, we did enjoy our trip down. I didn’t get much sleep that night as I was afraid that I would sleep it out so I eventually got up at 5.30am and had my breakfast of porridge and juice. We headed off for Newcastle at 7am and parked at a metro station a few miles away from the start line. Crowds of people were making their way towards the city and the atmosphere was electric. The weather was warm and sunny and everyone was on a high getting ready for the big event. I collected my number and said my goodbyes to my husband who planned to meet me at the finishing line.
I ran solo, along with 57,000 other runners, and I realized that no one runs the GRN solo. It is an event for groups to run together mainly for a charity. This is where I really started to miss my running buddies form Dunboyne. I had to walk nearly a mile to my starting point and we eventually got to the start line in about forty minutes after the race had started. The “oggi oggi oggi’s”, the Tyne Bridge, the crowds along the course with the locals handing out jelly babies and cheering us on made it a memorable experience. For me the most enjoyable part was definitely the water-shower tents which you could walk through to cool down, I just hate running in hot weather. I completed my Great North Run in 2 hours 31 minutes which was a really bad time but as I learnt you don’t do the GRN for time. I was really happy to cross that finish line and even happier when I found my husband amongst the big crowds.
It was definitely a memorable run and I am glad to have been given the opportunity to partake in it. Would I recommend it? I don’t think so unless you are running with a group of friends. It was extremely congested and you had to navigate your way through the water bottles that were thrown along the roadside. For me nothing beats the local club runs or running with our club members, however, this was definitely a memorable run and I am glad and honored to have been part of this iconic event.
