Great North Run 2013

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  • hi XL, my OH is away,  alot so unfortunately  i can only do certain weeks due 2having my 2little girls at home (7 and 1) but  i defs wanna give th Town Moor 1  whirl at some point.. 

    Its always nice t finish the run image rest 4me steady 6 tomorro. last week was quite a speed week for me so next week gonna focus more on steady n endurance with a gym session thrown in on Wed 4good measure image

  • Sounds like you've got a good balanced training regime there.
    Look forward to seeing you on the moor sometime.
    Enjoy the endurance work image

  • Fiona - what that is brilliant to take another 7 mins nearly off PB is truly amazing and after London makes it almost impossible. I just think you deserve anything you want after that.

    I too did a new PB today at Manchester 3:47:18 which is a 5 min PB but I did not runa Marathon last week

  • Fantastic Fiona ! Another sub-4. Huge congratulations, I am in awe.

    Now rest !

    And imbibe some anti-oxidants.

  • And massive congratulations on your big PB, BP image

  • Fiona, I have only one word: awesome!

    Now get some well deserved rest.

    Congrats on your PB too, Bear.

    MeShell - it's difficult when the other half is away a lot. I don't get to many Parkruns either. Fuddle jnr agrees to come (she's 10), but then changes her mind and you can't force them to run! (more's the pity)

  • Bear - well done on the shiny new PB.

    XL - definitely a glass of wine tonight and then sleeeeeeppppppp. No running now till parkrun on Saturday although I might just volunteer. 

  • As i said on fb "bloody hell fiona" !!!!! Amazing amazing running to do that 1 week after london.

     

    Bearsted - outstandi running , well done.  In awe of any marathon runner, you are all officially nuts !

  • If anyone reads the Sunday sun I am adoring page 14 it would seem!

  • That should be featuring! Stupid phone.

  • I hope it's a large glass. Are you at work tomorrow ?

  • MichelleJ - Not many campsites in the Newcastle area but see Nirvana Europe for a campsite option at Newcastle racecourse, it seems to be £35 per night. Nirvane Europe have been doing GNR trips for years.

     You may wish to consider staying at Durham Univ. They are usually about £25 per night but they have put their prices up for the GNR but still cheaper than hotels.

    Info here http://www.dur.ac.uk/event.durham/tourism/gnr/

    They also do return coach travel (nb trains Durham to Newcastle seem to start too late!)

  • Hello Sunday People  image 

    Well, I prophesied weeks ago that it'd be windy for the marathon, and I was right - in spades!  Unfortunately.  But I just knew it'd be windy, I just knew!  image

    The cold and wind got to me in the end, as I knew it would.

    The first half went like a breeze.  I probably started out too fast, but that was in part down to the weather ... I tried to compensate for the wind by running a bit faster to stay on pace, but ran a bit too fast.  But I felt fine, really strong, and reached halfway in about 1:58 - so I was where I wanted to be.

    Also got a shout-out from spongecake, spectating from a bus shelter (sheltering from the wind I'm guessing) a couple of times near the start, which was lovely - so thank you spongecake.

    But the second half, once all the half-marathoners had left us, just seemed to get a lot hillier and a lot windier and I struggled from about 16 miles onwards.  I hit The Wall ... and The Wall was made of wind!

    I wasn't prepared for it to be as undulating as it was - I was led to believe from a running friend who did it last year that it was "fairly flat" (he's no longer my friends image ) but it was anything but!  And of course having the wind to contend with as well just made things hideous. Hideous!

    I seriously considered giving up at various points from about 17 miles onwards, and felt like crying often image.  A guy from my running club who was spectating cheered me on as I passed him at 19 miles "It's so windy!  And hilly!" was all I could gasp out so he ran down the road with me for about 100 metres giving me a motivational pep talk, bless him.

    Then as I approached the second park (about 22 miles?) the heavens opened and it started lashing it down and I could barely see where I was running.  By this stage you just start wondering why the weather gods have it in for us!  What did we do to offend them?  I just wanted to curl up in the foetal position by the side of the path and suck my thumb.  Marathons can really mess with your head, lol

    Finally - finally we were on the last couple of miles though, and heading back to the stadium so soon the hell would be over.  

    Crossed the line and my Garmin said 4:02 - but I measured the route as short (as did others) so I don't feel I can class it as an 'official' marathon time (I didn't take any short cuts I swear!)

    I'd like to think that on a nice day and a flatter course I'd be able to go under 4 hours (with the full distance) but it was just not to be today  image

     

  • Graham LGraham L ✭✭✭

    I never got round to congratulating those who ran London last week, especially Fiona with her world record, so I'll do that belatedly now. Well done everyone.

    And well done to Fiona and Shielsy for great performances in pretty poor conditions today. I've just got back from a 5-mile run in Newcastle and the wind was bad enough just for that short distance. If the course was indeed short, I think that's pretty shabby. Anyone completing a marathon deserves to know they've done the full distance.

    Well done too Bearsted Plodder on your PB.

  • well done guys on ur runs and PBs image now RELAX lol

    MF- yeah its really difficult training/racing coz he is training to b an officer at Sandhurst so I literally train as n when I can grab my lil sis (18) to look after the 1yr old whilst the 7yr old is at school... We also pay 4her 2go 2nursery 4half a day on a fri morning so I do my long runs then. Frustrating at times but worth the agro coz I get to train image  cant wait tl he commissions in Aug, some normality should ressume not long after (here's hoping!) ha.

  • I am in Hard Rock Cafe with bottle of wine waiting for a table and then a steak and the red wine

  • Great race report shielsey, shows how much determination and guts you have to slog it out and not give in, absolutely outstanding shielsey !!

    funny that the course measured short this year as last year the 10k was long and i remember hearing the mara was also long, they must have tweaked the course this year.

  • Thanks Graham ... and I agree about the shabbiness of the short distance.  I'm not the only one who measured the course as short (considerably so!) and my friend who did the half measured her route as short too.

    I'd rather have a slower time but know that I ran the distance I've been training for, as not doing the full distance takes the shine off it.

    Wonder if there's complaints?

    Anyway, a big well done to Bearsted Plodder - I'm really chuffed for you.  And also to Fiona who somehow managed to beat her London time despite the conditions being so much worse today.

    I met up with Fiona at the start, and she shouted to me a couple of times en route (there's lots of parts where you have runners going up and down the same stretch of road in opposite directions) and then got the metro home with her, and met up with Viv (Raring to Go) at the start as we both came out of the toilets at the same time ... what are the odds of that?

  • bear-that sounds like my kinda ater race 'pick me up' enjoy.

  • great report BTW Shielsy image well done

  • Fiona- that's awesome.  I struggled to do a parkrun yesterday after the effects of the VLM so the thought of doing another marathon after a week is beyond me!  Not a picture I'll be buying:

    /members/images/433328/Gallery/Image2.jpg

     

    Shielsy- well done too.  Sounds rather unpleasant- hills and wind image.  Isn't it a PB for you, or is Pof10 out of date?

    Talking of co-incindences, the person who crossed the line at exactly the same second as me at London has a son at school with my son!

  • Well done to Fiona, Shielsy and Bearsted image  Fantastic efforts from you!!!! image

    Fiona can be found here:  http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/article4898809.ece and it's so awesome that you lowered your PB again - WELL DONE!

    I'm still waiting to find out my time from today, but my 5 year PB has gone to bed. I just don't know how much of a PB it is, but going by gun time it's 13 minutes just from that image

    Well done to Stringy too for the 10km image

    OS - is that a smile or a grimace on that photo? image

  • MeShell - believe you memo wharf the wine Steak and Apple Cobbelt I feel good now for the coffee

  • ... coffee then home and sleep image job well done 

  • Well reading yup on here and after going to London last week to support the runners from my club and all runners I must say that I am full of admiration for everyone who takes part in a marathon. After last year I entered the ballot but this year my head is saying wait a bit longer until the halves become easier, I didn't see too many people enjoying the last 5 miles although one young lady who trains with my club did it in 2:46 which is ridiculous. Will I get tempted to enter the ballot tomorrow? 

  • Fiona,Bearsted,Shielsy and Vixx,awesome efforts enjoy your rest,food and drink.

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