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Great North Run 2010
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ssshh.......don't tell anyone but I may on local BBC and ITV news this evening
I'll probably end up on the cutting room floor to be honest, but you never know!
Its work related, not running related this time.
My race report, now I've got some of the photos to put in it.
I stayed over night with a work colleague just south of York and traveled up on the morning by train. Arrived at Newcastle Central at about 8:15 and headed for the Metro to buy my Day Rover ticket and caught the Metro to Haymarket. I put on my bin liner as it was raining when I came out of the Metro and followed the crowds and the signs towards the start area. I stopped to shelter from the rain under the over-hang of the University building opposite the entrance to Exhibition Park, watching the various buses of the elite runners, the celebs and their chaparones turning into Claremont Road. At 9am I gave my other half a call to let her know I had got there safe and sound and then I wandered up Claremont Road to the baggage busses, passing on the knowledge that I gained from the Forum to those around me as though I had done this before. Put mine bag on bus number thirteen and then headed towards the start zones.
I went down the slope near the foot bridge and was at the start of the white zones with the crossing point just in front of that. Had a quick walk up and down the side of the pens and went into the pen just before they played "Abide with me". Spotted Shielsy sitting on her bucket although I was not sure it was her as the bucket was covered by a foil blanket which made me think it was a milk crate and so it was only once I spotted the "I'm running for" sign on her back with her JustGiving page that I was certain that is was her. As the local celebrities got up on the platform to start the race I comment to Shielsy that it was nice of (Mr) SJ & Stringy (aka PJ & Duncan) to start the race for us. With a quizzicle look on her face, Shielsy asked how I knew them and I said through the Forum and I told her my username but it did not mean much as I only posted a few times. Just before we got to the start line we saw also Holymoly. Then a quick picture of the start-line celebs and we were off... thirty seconds later I started my Garmin! I must have been too star struck to remember as I crossed the line.
I started on the left and so went under the other carriageway, at which point my Garmin got confused and had me running throught Brandling Park and the playing fields!
continues...
Spotted lots of people who were "relieved" to find a few columns to inspect quite closely (so to speak)! There was quite a few shouts of "Oggy! Oggy! Oggy" whilst running under the westbound carriageway and I also saw a car heading up the Great North Road hooting his horn! So out of the underpass and approaching the one mile mark when my Garmin auto-lapped before the mile mark, and as I had started it late I thought something fishy was up and looking at the split I knew it was as I don't run a mile in 7:07!
Over the Tyne Bridge I was hoping that the Red Arrows would fly over as I was in the perfect place for THE iconic picture, but no I was over the roundabout before they did fly over...
I kept on picking my way through the field and at about the two and a half mile mark I saw Floella Benjamin, so I said "Well done!" as I went past. At one point I saw King Arthur another Knight and their servant with the coconuts, so I asked them "African or European?" referring to the Holy Grail conversation about how coconuts might be found in England! I spotted the Gatorade Zero being handed out, so I avoided it. I was a bit disappointed as I had specifically taken a full sugar version out on a ten mile training run to see if it agreed with me or not and I was ok with it, but I thought I would stick with water and my Dextros energy sweets. I was handed a bottle of water at the eight and a half mile mark water station by Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson and as I took it I said "Thanks Tanni!". At about the ten mile mark I saw Sheilsy go past me and at the BUPA Boost Zone I thought I would take some Jelly Babies which I think ended up being a big mistake as I found that they made my mouth all sticky and I felt a bit sick with it. So, at the eleven mile mark I stepped onto the pavement had a walk for a few minutes whilst I finished the Jelly Babies and rinsed out my mouth to stop me from feeling sick. Still, lesson learnt, "Don't try new stuff during a race" as I've never tried Jelly Babies whilst running.
Continues ...
From there on in it was a steady run to the twelve mile mark and then I even managed to pick up the pace a bit on the long run to the line. I crossed the line with the clock reading 2:09:15 and on my watch 1:59:15, so I thought I had beaten the two hour mark. That was confirmed by text message a couple of minutes later when I got my finish time of 1:59:43. Not my fastest half marathon, but not my slowest either.
Got my race medal and goodie bag and queued up for the photo. Then off to the baggage bus to collect my and get changed. I popped to the seafront at South Shields to take a photo of the beach as I was trying to cronicle my adventure to show family and friends, and just then it started to rain so I thought I should make my way to the Metro station. So I followed the crowd past Bents Park when I saw the Red Arrows do their display at about 1:30pm. As I walked to the Metro station the rain got harder and harder and I had not packed any wet weather gear for after the race, so I got soaked. Thankfully the rain stopped when I got to the back of the queue for the Metro and so I did not get any wetter in the wait to get on the Metro and I got in to Newcastle Central station at about 3:10ish. Then had to get changed again out of my wet jeans and into my running trousers (tracksuit bottoms?) and luckily I found a spare t-shirt in my bag
. Train to London and connections to home were pretty good and I got home at about 9:30pm still buzzing!
Really enjoyed the whole experience and even getting soaked afterwards didn't spoil my day. Thank-you to Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyneside for a really memorable experience.
Alan
Fab race report there Almanac!!! and well done for the sub 2hrs!!
almanac - now thats what i call a race report !!! fantastic work mate well done
stringy - i shall be selling my story of our show biz split to hello magazine next week and im now joing up with kerry katona to create a new double act
Great race reporting there.
Not got a fancy red button - I`m trying to watch the coverage on iplayer thing.
Made me smile reading "spotted Shielsy sitting on her bucket" - did I look like Oor Wullie? That bucket should have its own avatar and profile on the forum. It'll be posting, next!
Hi guys.
It sounds as if you all had a good day on Sunday! I thought I would write a report of my day to share my experiences with you.
This year’s Great North Run was my first ever half marathon, other than once practice 13 mile run 11 days previous. I was running in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust. I have been training for the last 6 months or so for it. Having gone the whole 6 months without any injuries, on the Tuesday before the race I managed to go over on my ankle while moving out of the way for cyclists on the path to get past, hurting my ankle and foot in the process. I spent the next 4 days doing as little as possible and using lots of ice and tiger balm, hoping it would hold up for the run on the Sunday. On the night before the race I went to a charity do for Teenage Cancer Trust runners. They had entertainment, free pasta and inspirational speeches and videos. It was a great motivation booster for the following day.
Sunday 19th September 2010 at 08:00 my alarm went of. The big day was finally here! I had some porridge and at 9:10 the taxi arrived to take us to the start line on the way to which we passed crowds of people. Me and a friend who was also running headed to the baggage busses and then made our way to the start line where we waited for over an hour for the race to begin. During this time we enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and laughed our way through the warm up along with around 50,000 others.
When we saw the elite men appear on the screen and their names were announced, we knew the start was close. As they set off, a massive cheer echoed around Newcastle. The moment I had been waiting for for so long had finally arrived! A whole 15 minutes past before we even reached the start line then the running began. The first couple of miles felt good, downhill towards the Tyne Bridge. As we entered the tunnel just before the bridge, the shouts of ‘OGI-OGI-OGI, OI-OI-OI!’ sent shivers down my spine. That was a moment I would never forget as it enhanced the experience for everyone. I then passed over the Tyne Bridge which was a great feeling, running over the iconic bridge which I so often drive over.....
For the next 9 or so miles, I steadily made my way through the masses of people, often using the central reservation in attempt not to lose much time. On the way I passed many inspirational runners such as a man running carrying a fridge on his back, firemen running in full uniform and a man pushing his father in a wheelchair for the entire 13 miles. People lined the roadside and the Teenage Cancer Trust cheering point at mile 8 provided extra motivation. When I finally reached the start of South Shields with the shops along the left hand side, I couldn’t help but think of my Mam. When we travelled to South Shields for days out as a kid she always mentioned how this place reminded her of growing up. This was the first of many times I felt a lump in my throat. I hope I was making her proud!
Once I made it down the very steep hill just before the 12 mile mark, I was constantly looking out for my family on either side of the road waiting to cheer me on as a passed. About a mile later and with around 400m to go, I heard my sister shouting my name and saw her holding an inflatable Teenage Cancer Trust baton. I ran over and took it from her so I could show people as I crossed the line who I was running the race for. I finally crossed the line with the clock at 2:14:04 and with an official time of 1:59:01. Considering it was my first ever real half marathon, I was very pleased with my time. However, I couldn’t help but think how much quicker I would have ran had I not needed to dodge so many people!
As soon as I stopped running, my ankle and foot seized up and I could barely walk on it. I was so relieved it held up for the whole time I was running. The bandage, tiger balm and painkillers did their jobs! I slowly headed to collect my goody bag and medal before waiting at the reunion point for my family. When they arrived I was greeted with big hugs and made to pose for photo after photo. We then made our way to the Teenage Cancer Trust charity tent then collected my bag and headed home. It took almost 4 hours to get from south shields to my Uni house 2 miles from Newcastle City Centre!
All in all I had a great day and one that I will never ever forget. I have managed to raise over £2000 for Teenage Cancer trust and hope to raise more for years to come. My inspiration to help this great charity came from an amazing friend of mine who is currently suffering from terminal cancer at the age of just 21. I hope I have done you proud, love you mate!
I will post a few pictures on a separate post and I will hopefully be seeing you all on 18th September 2011 for the 31st Great North Run!
Me at the reunion area gettin stuck into some of the sweets from my goodie bag! :
Running down the steep hill just before the final mile:
Crossing the finish line after 1:59:01 of running:
My Certificate:
Posing the the charity tent:
Just as I spotted my sister 400m from the finish:
At the reunion point with my Mam and Step-dad:
I hope you have all enjoyed my report and pictures
Great race report and pics Anthony.
Here's a pic of me crossing the finish line ....I promise that although it looks like it on the pic I was not trying to punch the lady behind me in the face - it's just the camera angle LOL
and collecting my medal
I didnt get any pics last time I ran GNR (in 2008) so am pleased to have got a few half decent ones this year.
Smashing report Anthony. You did do your mate proud. I know from experience with my son what good work the Teenage Cancer Trust does. Well done on raising so much for that cause.
Liz
Hi All,
I ran the GNR this year for the 1st time for the Stroke association and raised over £800. I have started to write about it on a blog, I have just put the 1st part up, the 2nd part will follow asap
http://www.notagreatrunner.blogspot.com
Please post any comments!!!
Thanks,
CBC
Jovi Runner - your photos are fantastic ... mine are all hideous!
Shielsy,
The rest is coming this week, it should go out via twitter as well (@notagreatrunner), as long as my IT skills are up to scratch!
Cheers,
CBC
My pics are rubbish
. I can hardly tell; they are me!
Jovi - yours are great
thanks alot mate that meand alot! sorry to hear about your brother and dad. I am going to continue running for Teenage Cancer Trust for many years to come and eventually move onto marathons and other events. I think I might also be interested in raising money for a new foundation which is being set up soon which provides help and support aftercare for parents and families who have lost their teeenagers to cancer. Thanks to everyone for their messages
Also call me cynical but I didn't feel like ordering a DVD without knowing what coverage there is of me. There could just be the finish as shown.
Its good to see you have some great pics Anthony. Hope they are a reminder of a wonderful experience.
HUGE respect for everyone running for a cause. Are there figures for how much is raised through GNR?
My picssare rubbish to start with so no hope for me with a dvd then! I'll be saving the money for my next excertion.
I can't remember if I bequeathed this yeaer for VLM. I may not have because it's another running jacket isn't it? Not sure though. Should we be checking our bank accounts?