It's the day of the Great North Run and it will be my 21st outing at this race. I'm supposed to race a sub 1:45 HM in week 12 so I'm aiming for 1:50 or better today. I picked up a 1:50 timing bracelet at the GNR Expo which lists each mile split time to achieve a 1:50 finish so my plan is to be just a little quicker than the bracelet time at each mile split. Race start time is 10:40 but I'm up at 06:30 too exited to sleep more and to be sure I have enough time for breakfast, toilet, & all the other prep necessary before the race. The weather forecast says it will most probably rain at the finish area around the time I should arrive, so I pack rain gear in the bag I will be leaving on the baggage bus, along with food and some cash.
Jeff (see Sat 17th) drives me to the start via our usual route past St James Park and I arrive at Leazes Terrace (aka the start area) at 09:15. I know that John Harry from Braunston & his son Richard are planning to run in the race and ponder if I will see then amongst the 54,000 other runners massing in the start area. Walking past a bus stop I hear someone call 'Paul' and spookily there they both are munching bananas. We chat about our race plans , Richard is also targeting a sub 1:50 finish, while John hopes to complete the race in around 3 hours. Richard & I are in different start pens, but we put our bags on the same bus and plan to meet up at the finish.
At 10:00 we go off to our respective start pens wishing each other all the best for the race ahead. I am pleased to find that my pen is not too full yet but has enough people to shelter me from the cool breeze if I stand somewhere in the middle. I feel my phone buzz and find I have 3 text messages wishing me good luck for the race. One from Hilde (see last Sunday), one from Cheryl, and one from Cheryl's sister. I send brief replies saying I'm in the pen waiting for the start & that the sun is shining. Just after the last text is sent I feel a few spots of rain on my arms. Looking down at my feet I see that someone has thrown away a plastic rain cover and quickly pick it up and put it on......thank you Alzheimer's Soc.
We watch the wheelchair race and the elite womens race get underway via the giant screens positioned along the start area. Then there is a moving moment as the Red Arrows fly down the whole line of runners with red white & blue trails streaming out behind them. It is in memory of their colleague Jon Egging (also from Rutland) who crashed and was fatally wounded at an air show in Bournemouth earlier in September. His wife Emma is to start the race (along with Mo Farrer) and then run the race in his memory.....a very brave & dignified lady.
At around 10:35 we begin to move forward towards the start line. We can hear the names of the elite men being introduced at the start and then the gun goes and we don't move. Soon we begin to walk forwards and the start gantry comes into view. By the time we cross the line it's 3:31 since the race started and we are moving at a slow jog which soon becomes a reasonable running pace as we spread out across 3 lanes of motorway.
My target time per mile is 8:23 and I run the first 3 miles in 7:36, 7:48, & 7:52, a bit quick but a good start to today efforts. As we run past Gateshead International Stadium the Red Arrows make a second appearance having flown over the Tyne Bridge and a huge cheer goes up from all around me. The next few miles go by smoothly and in the target range with only mile 5 (which includes a long up hill section) being slightly over target at 8:25. I reach halfway in around 52 mins which is well under the target time....so far so good. Miles 8 & 9 are uphill but I manage to maintain the required pace and am feeling strong for the final drag up to the sea front at mile 12. At around mile 11 the rain starts and continues until the finish, but its only light and actually quite pleasant.I run easily down the steep section onto the sea front and see the 12 mile banner feeling much more full of energy than I usually do at this point and begin to realise I am in for quite a good time. I run the final mile in 7:52 and finish the race in 1:46:51 feeling good and pleased that it is my 2nd fastest finish in the past 11 years (I did 1:44 in the 2000 race).
As I walk through the finish area the rain becomes heavier and I'm glad to find a foil blanket in my goody bag along with the usual medal & T-Shirt. On the baggage bus I meet up with Richard who finished in 1:49:43 and is also happy with his time. We change into dry gear and Richard goes off to wait for his dad (rather a long wait as it turned out as John found the going hard finishing in 3:21:32). I walk back to South Shields town center and after munching my sarnies visit my usual pub for a well earned Guinness......life is good.
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