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Great North Run 2009
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Hi guys,
Can`t believe you lot have broken Runner`s World server already & only after 449 posts (prob more now)
Was nice to meet so many before the start at the race & afterwards - nice to put faces to `names`.
Shielsy (& your OH) - Thanks again for the lift back & organising - hope you feel better soon.
My legs are ok but I can tell I`ve been on a bit of a run...will try harder next year
Can`t wait till this Sunday - out for a local 10k...off to Legoland 
afternoon every , hope legs (niggles) are on the mend now
graig: sorry to hear but the knee, well done for finishing with that.
NL ; what a race to get started with, you may well be hooked now
club run for me tonight , might just leave it tho, give the calf muscles a little bit more recovery, maybe couple gentle miles tomorrow , any sign of the photos yet?
roslyn accept me as a friend on fb yesterday, so she is around
Hi Liverbird, thanks for your kind comments. I am glad to see you are back running. I've had labyrinthitis before and it's not very nice. I'll see how the long run goes at the weekend before I decide on Dublin.
Hi Blister Sister,
We were staying in the New Northumbria hotel on Saturday and Sunday night! Wasn't it noisy on Saturday night with the club/bar music blaring! Did we sit next to you on Sunday morning at breakfast? I think I was wearing a Hell Runner t-shirt and ordered a full breakfast and was facing the window. I always find it embarrassing sitting so close to other people so I eat quickly and keep the chat to a minimum. I thought someone was looking over in our direction a lot! Are you quite tall? I'm going to have to get a post-race t-shirt printed with my name on it next year so I can wear it for breakie!
Will read back later!
Hi Russell
It must have been you! It was monday morning and would have been sat at the table on your left, facing into the restaurant. Five foot eight, boyfriend is tall though and utterly gorgeous (but I'll let you off if you didn't notice!!!) We left not long after you sat down - nothing to do with your eating habits, just had a 350 mile drive to do!
I've stayed in that hotel every year for the last four - it is a bit rowdy outside but never too much (unlike the Rex) and the staff are lovely in there.
Ouch Craig! Hope they sort your knee quickly...is it no running until then?
Hi, folks
ROFL at WTS - 'us marathon runners'
TURNCOAT !!
I just wondered is it easy to get a place to run and what is involved?Do you have to show evidence of current running ability etc?
Is there a date for the 2009 race yet?
many thanks for your help
There is a ballot but although I don't know the odds I get the impression that they're in your favour. If you go to www.greatrun.org you can register to be informed as soon as entries are open.
I believe the Daily Telegraph also runs a ballot, which is how I got in last year (before the official ballot results came out).
No evidence of running ability is asked for, just an anticipated time so you can be alloacted an appropriate start position.
Next year's race is Oct 4th
Good luck - you sound well on the way to training for the distance.
I forgot to say in my report back on the 2008 thread, I got a tiny stone in my shoe at around 6 miles, but didn't want to stop to remove it. It was bugging me the whole way!! Right at the ball of my foot/outside of big toe.
Next year, I'm definitely going to do that 8.5 - 12 mile stage a few times to prepare better. I was 2 mins ahead of my 1:55 ideal until I got to there and it all went to pot!
Blister Sister: I must have been weary of your boyfriend and so didn't let my eyes stray too far. Besides, OH has a killer punch!
Susieb: You'll be well able for the GNR if you are already running 5 miles 3 times a week. The minimum distance I'd say you need to run to complete the GNR is 10 miles. It is quite hilly between miles 3 and 5.5 so you might want to incorporate some hills into your weekly training. As Graham says you should try the Telegraph ballot first and then the official GNR ballot. It isn't too hard to get a place but if you're unsuccessful you can always get a charity place for around £300. It's not the greatest race for a PB but it is one of the best for atmosphere and enjoyment. Good luck and go for it!
Eek I pressed submit twice! doh!
Many thanks.I will keep an eye open for the ballots and keep my fingers crossed.
Great incentive to keep up and extend my training especially if Gethin Jones is running again!!
Hi Paul! It was great to meet you on Sunday. How are you feeling today? My legs feel a little battered today! Not sure whether to go for a run or rest and see if my chest improves.
Re: the ballot places. It's probably tougher than you lot think, you know! Most of the peeps I know got rejected. I was one of the only ones from my gym to get a "yes" and I still think that's because I complained about something to the race organisers and they got sick of me and said "just give her a bloody bib will you or she'll never shut up"!!
I was asked to provide documented evidence in the form of a link to official results or a copy of my certificate from a previous half in order to get my pen allocation, which is why I was pretty miffed with pen H!
Russell - REST or your auntie Liverbird will put you over her knee.....
yeh it was great to meet you too, we had a canny chat there. i,m undecided too, legs are still sore . but are gettig better as the day goes on, it s just the getting out of bed thing! but my feet are tapping to get out now lol
so whats the next big race you got planned then?
Just a quickie before dashing off to the track
Great pics Mike - cheers!
will check in properly when I get back tonight
I think the info I got sent when applying is that you are asked to provide a link to a previous race (doesnt have to be a half marathon) to prove speed you can run. I think the wording I got said that if you couldnt provide proof of time they wouldnt guartantee you a start in th relevant pen as places are allocated first to people who can prove times. That doesnt explain why you got wrong pen LB - you should def have got a good pen if you provided proof.
afternoon all,
craig - really sorry to hear about your injury, hope it gets sorted quickly
ive spoken to roslyn on facebook and she's fine, sure she'll check in here soon enough !!
forced myself out this morning and did 3.5 miles at a nice 8:20 min/mile pace, felt really good and loosened the legs up nicely and then blasted them with ice cold water when i got back, going to give club a miss tonigth and head back on thursday when im hoping im 100% fit and raring to go
Don't get me wrong Jovi runner, I won't be giving Andy Sly any nightmares! My pb is 2.07 and I got H! I thought that was a bit far back considering I would have tried to go a bit faster!
mr sj, sounds very similar to what I've just done. Just did 3.5 miles (treadmill though) at 8:45 pace. My quads have been stiff, but within a couple of minutes felt fine. Was annoyed that I'd been running for 0.5 mile, didn't like the song on my ipod and hit forward to see my display was counting the time on Nike+, but no pace/distance. Bummer. Stopped and relinked the sensor and was fine afterwards, but feel cheated out of the 0.5 mile
.
I was asked to provide a link for my expected time, but didn't have anything official to give. I sent a link to my half marathon run (only time I'd done that distance at the time) on Nike+ and they must have accepted that as I got zone E. I was surprised.
Good plan! I'll send them my Nike + times. Mine is BLOODY miles out!
Lol! Mine was too. That run was 1:55 and the next times I ran that distance in training were 2:07 (I stupidly took no water that day and was suffering), 1:58 and then officially 1:58 at the GNR.
Edit - when I looked at the results on Great Run for zone D, my time would have been on page 90 (or 99) out of 191 pages, so I hope I get that zone next year. Still seems to be quite random how they allocate it though.
Afternoon all
I've eventually made it home after the weekend (stayed at my sisters in Yorkshire last night), so I still haven't managed to catch up on everyones reports yet. I will try, honest!
XL - "turncoat"?? What do you mean (WTS whistles innocently)
BS - London could turn into a big forum party, don't suppose we will ever pursuade any camels to join us though
. I've alreay entered Reading Half in March and was thinking about Wokingham which is in Feb.
I've got to sort my heel out before I do anything though.
So GNR 2009 is 4th October, thanks folk, I've circled it in my diary already
Vicki - enjoy the club run. I'm not going (still too sore and too ill) and C isn't as her legs are sore today she's said. Plus I did say I was definitely taking a month off running after all this didn't I? Wonder how long I'll hold out.