GNR 2005
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GNR 2005 |
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Sunday 18th September 2005 The Big Event - The Great North Run This is the event that started this project rolling. Half a marathon, 13.1 miles - more than I have ever run (or probably walked for that matter) in one go, so far. It's hard to believe that it was a year ago since I watched the coverage of the Great North Run and was inspired to take part. Never before would I have been tempted to take part in a long distance event, but all that has changed since. ******************************************************* Sunday morning at 7.20 am I awoke. Charlie who shared student lodgings with Sam (where we were staying), was already awake and eating her breakfast with her mum, Jenny, in the kitchen. I hadn't had chance to speak to Charlie the night before, so it was nice to see her - she was running too. I passed on the tip to C, to take a bin liner to the start line so that she could keep warm. However, there wasn't much problem keeping warm, as it turned out, as the sky was a brilliant blue and there was hardly a cloud to be seen. I set off at 8.45am. However, got five minutes down the road and realised I'd forgotten my running bottle. Rang Graeme and he met me at the door at 8.50 am with the bottle. Off I went again. I met two girls on route who had run the race a few times. They guided me to the bridge and the viewpoint over the starting area. What a sight. Fantastic - all those people and colours and the buzz of excitement. Sam and Graeme took photos off this bridge just before the start, here are a couple of them: (roll your mouse over the image)
The masses (I was one of them) were setting off at 10.40am. The people right on the start line set off at 10.40 promptly and the section I was in did not move forward until 11.05 am. However, once we did get going, it was very exciting. We soon reached a bypass and the promised 'Oggy oggy ogging' got going. We had a great guy in our group. He was about six feet tall and well-built, running in a very fetching orange dress. Kept us all smiling with many 'Oggies' and 'Private Benjamin Style' Army chants. The pace at the beginning was, as predicted, quick. I did the first three miles in 30 minutes and it was hot, hot, hot; so at mile 3 I decided to slow it down a bit if I ever intended to reach the finish in one piece. At mile 6 the niggle in my left foot had metamorphasised into a blister and I made the decision to battle on, rather than stop and fix a plaster on and add more minutes on to my time. I passed the 10 k mark at my 12 minute mile pace passing there in 1 hr and 12 minutes. My hips and thighs were starting to feel tight and sore at mile 7 so I changed tactics to walk more and run a couple of minutes of every mile. My walking was a good pace mind you - I wasn't dilly dallying! The mile markers kept appearing on the horizon and it felt so good passing each one and getting nearer to the finish. There were some worrying sights too along the way. We passed quite a number of people who were experiencing difficulties and the ambulances and paramedics had to speed past us on a number of occasions. I experienced mixed emotions when witnessing these scenes. On one hand I was feeling an immense sense of achievement on reaching distances never run before, but on the other hand also concern for my fellow runners in distress. My best moment was reaching mile 12. Even better than the finish; which on reflection seems quite odd. At mile 11 to 12 you run along a steady incline and just see road ahead, however on reaching the top of this steady hill mile marker 12 is reached and with it a beautiful view. The South Shields coast and the sea. I love to see the sea and this moment stands out for me. The road then continued down quite a steep slope (ran dow this as I had minutes to catch up on) and round a corner to a mass of cheering crowds lining the last mile. Absolutley wonderful. I hobbledly (descriptive made up word) ran most of the last mile and sensing a sub 2 hr 50 minute possibility - went for it, and got it. 2 hours, 49 minutes and 47 seconds!!! (as recorded by the microchip around my ankle) ******************************************
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Website constructed by W. Lawson (2008)
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