Great North Run Race Report

Getting there: I had heard from various people that getting anywhere remotely near where you wanted to be was just short of a nightmare – early starts, parking anywhere you could find, navigating your way through town to the start and even talk of jumping barriers at the end. Now I was nervous enough about the race – I certainly didn’t want to contend with the idea of jumping any barriers and landing flat on my face in front of the masses. As it turned out, getting to South Shields and parking up was actually quite painless.

Rendezvous with friends: I had arranged to meet my friends at the metro to make the trip to the start line together. The metro was apparently a 15 minute walk from the finish area… 2.5 miles later I met up with them, slightly late and very much stressed! Metro tickets bought, we made the 30 minute journey into the ‘Toon’.

Entry to the pens: We arrived into the start area just as the gun went off. Deciding to take our time, we stopped for a photo and said goodbye to our supporters and bag carriers. Having persuaded my green numbered friends not to clamber under the barrier army style, they decided to jog along the carriageway to reach an opening to save having to go right to the very back. I let them go! I carried on walking, searching for the pink pen, but the 2.5 mile warm up was still fresh in my mind so after a further 500m I saw an opening and waited until the pink parade of numbers came through and snuck in.

Amazing atmosphere: the feeling you get when you are making that long, long walk towards the start line and all you can see are runners everywhere and charity vests with descriptions of loved ones being remembered is such an emotional feeling. For that brief moment I forgot the feat that was ahead of me. I even joined in with the masses to wave at the ‘athlete’ stood on the makeshift platform waving at the crowds only to chuckle to myself when I passed the real Mo Farah that the man we had been waving and cheering at was in fact a very cheery Powerade worker!

The off: crossing the start line was quite a strange feeling. Maybe because I did something I never thought I would ever get into the habit of doing – I started my Garmin! In all honesty the race route particulars are all now a bit of a blur, but I do remember crossing the Tyne Bridge quite early on and thinking that it was nice to run on a route that was fairly familiar to me from my uni days in Newcastle.

Nourishment: the whole race, from start to finish was magnificently well organised and the water/powerade stations were plentiful and very welcome. I also liked the boost zone – not only for the jelly babies but because I ran past the commentator and he called my name out!

Oggie Oggie Oggie: at first this was quite funny, especially through the tunnels/underpasses at the start of the race; by Gateshead stadium it was startling to think that runners actually had the energy and breath to spare to start the chant; by mile 7 it was wearing thin and by the end I was most definitely all oggied-out!

Rain: for once I was quite thankful for the rain! All I kept thinking about pre-race was all the news headlines of previous years and the heat-related casualties, and hoping that this year would not be another hot one. That said, it was very warm at times – but the spells of rain were very welcome and refreshing.

Tani Grey Thompson: my only ‘celeb’ spot of the day was Tani as she helped hand out water at one of the water stations. There were plenty of fancy dress spots though, my favourite one being Paddington Bear whose companions clearly loved calling out “bear behind coming through”. My hat goes off to them – I found it difficult enough running in shorts and a vest, let alone with added fur or in one man’s case with a fridge strapped to his back!

Hills: I had heard plenty about this race before hand and how hilly it was, or if you would prefer – slightly undulating or a route with bumps. (To me some races even seem mountainous!!). I had looked at the profile before hand so knew when to expect them and if I am honest it didn’t seem too bad. The main problem was a narrowing of the road at the one around 6 miles, meaning runners slowed right down so you can’t rely on getting up hills quickly to get them over with.

Red arrows: I really got the sense of how special this race was when the red arrows flew over my head at the start and finish – you don’t get that in smaller races and it was great to see such spectacular manoeuvres overhead. I remember at mile 11 when they created the heart in the sky we all looked up and did the collective “ooooh-ahhh” and applauded. It was a welcome distraction from the pain in my legs!

Unbelievable support: throughout the whole race, from start to finish, the support was fantastic. From the designated charity cheering points, who whooped that little bit louder and shouted out your name when they saw that you were ‘one of them’; to the members of the public who provided their own pit stops of water, sweets, ice pops and the buffet lady at mile 11’s hill, who offered the somewhat unusual sausage rolls and sandwiches – the support was fabulous and definitely helped get me round.

Nearly there: when I hit mile 12 at the sea front I couldn’t believe that I had ran 12 miles already and it was nearly over. That said, the last mile felt like 12 miles in itself! I spotted Michael and my parents at about 200m and that was the final boost I needed to finish. I was exhausted and my legs hurt – but I did it, I had completed the Great North Run! I am very glad I did it because it is such an iconic race and would recommend anyone who hasn’t ran it to run it – but I’m not sure there is ever any need to do it twice!