This is a very late race recap. It’s been a mad few months and I’ve not had much time for blogging! But I’d like to get caught up before the end of the year, so expect a few more posts than usual over the next few weeks.
In September, as ever, I ran the Great North Run. It wasn’t an A race, as it was part of my training for the Yorkshire Marathon. However, I still thought I was probably capable of a PB, as I hadn’t run a half since February’s Valentine Half Marathon. In the weeks leading up to the race, I reckoned I could probably do 1:50ish. I was in the orange wave for the first time and I felt I was capable of it.
However, on the start line, I was having doubts. The weather was not kind (it would start to rain as we crossed the start line and would continue until we were nearly at the end), I didn’t really feel like running at max effort, and most of all I thought I would prefer to run with Geth, who was aiming for just under 2 hours following recovery from his Achilles injury. I decided that I would just set out and see how I felt.
A couple of miles in, Geth was still with me, so we decided we would run together at a steady pace to try and finish in 1:55ish, which would still be a big PB for me. It felt comfortable, and the miles ticked by really quickly despite the rain. I’ve done so many slow GNRs that felt like they took all day and this was so different.
No Red Arrows this year, but the finish straight was as wild and atmospheric as ever. I was conservative in my sprint finish because Geth couldn’t go too fast with his Achilles and I wanted us to finish together, but we still made it across the line in 1:55:22 – a 4 minute 9 second PB for me, and it felt so easy. I have high hopes for this distance next year.
Another bonus this year was no freak flash floods! So we were able to get the bus back to Newcastle really straightforwardly and were home by 3:20pm (also a PB).
I am currently in my tenth year living in Newcastle and so it was my tenth Great North Weekend, having started with my very first race at the Great North 5k in 2015. I got all my T-shirts out to celebrate.
Looking forward to many more! (Especially if they fix the start area process, which was complete and utter chaos this year.)