Tag: Running

I’ve done the Great North 10k in Gateshead twice before.  The first time was in 2016, which was the first and (hopefully!) last time I ever came dead last in a race.  That was a special day, strangely.  Last year was better for me, but Geth was running it with a broken toe, which wasn’t ideal.

Today was a fairly good race for both of us – it was a hot day, so no overall PBs, but we both got course PBs – mine by about five minutes, so I’m pretty pleased with that.  I find the Great North 10k to be quite a pleasant race, as the bulk of it is an out-and-back section where I’m always too preoccupied with looking out for people I know running the other way to dwell too much on my own discomfort, and the views of the Tyne bridges are very pretty.  The ninth kilometre, meanwhile, goes through a nice bit of park – there’s a short steep hill at the end of that section that everybody makes a really big deal out of (it’s nicknamed the ‘Slog on the Tyne’, but it only takes a minute or so to jog up it, and it’s really not that hard), and then the last kilometre is a nice flat run into Gateshead Stadium and round the track.

I don’t know if I’ll do it for a fourth time next year, but definitely at some point.

For the second year running, Geth and I did the Blaydon Race yesterday.  It’s a bit of an odd distance – five and a bit miles – and it’s always on the ninth of June, which can feel a bit odd when it falls on a weekday, but it’s become a traditional race in the North East.  The route is based on the lyrics of the Blaydon Races song, and you get a bottle of beer in your goody bag.  It’s a great race.

Sadly neither Geth nor I had a great race yesterday.  First of all, it was a really hot day and everyone was feeling it on the route.  The start was delayed due to problems with getting the roads closed in time, then roadworks meant there was a bottleneck near the start that slowed everyone down, so Geth went off too fast after that to try to make up the pace, and ran out of energy during the last mile.  Meanwhile, I had a few foot issues – a bruised toenail getting gradually worse and making downhill sections very painful, leading to bad form, leading to more foot pain.  I then got a stitch that was so bad I was still feeling it this morning.  I came in at one hour and thirty-five seconds, which was a great course PB – twelve minutes and fifty-two seconds faster than last year – but I was so gutted not to get sub-hour, which I would have done easily if I hadn’t had all those issues.

Still, the bus queue was a lot shorter than last year, and the t-shirt is more awesome.  I will be back next year, presuming I can get a place!

So, the EMF 10k, which is always a memorable race.  I first signed up to do it in 2016, but then it turned out to be the wee bro’s wedding in Toronto the same weekend, and I obviously couldn’t be in two places at once, so I had to wait till 2017 before I could do this challenging race for the first time.

2017 certainly did not disappoint in terms of challenge –  the 30°C weather, almost unheard of for Edinburgh, took care of that.  This year was much more amenable with the temperature, and so not only did I take almost fifteen minutes off my time from last year, but I was only one minute and two seconds slower than the PB I set in Sunderland a fortnight ago.  That’s pretty good going considering the ridiculous elevation of the EMF 10k and its steep climb up Arthur’s Seat!

Geth was only about a minute off his Sunderland time as well, so we’re both pretty happy today.  Next up is the Blaydon Race in another fortnight’s time!