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Great North Run 2005

50,000 people entered the Great North Run this year. It was the world’s biggest half-marathon ever and the stage for a world best in the men’s race.

The official start for the masses was 10.40am, slightly later than usual. Maybe due to the volumes of people that needed to get to the start. The BBC were ever present with the usual celebrities running (Dermott O’leary, Nell McAndrew, Ray Stubbs, John Motson etc.) Before the race began the ashes were displayed and a frantic warm up was planned. Sue Barker did the usual presenting.

The start line was bursting with runners going back along the dual carriage at least 1km. Late comers were forced to enter the race by jumping over the closest barrier causing chaos. The runners at the back of the pack didn’t stand a chance of crossing to start until 30minutes after the race had begun. Luckily for all, the entrants were chipped so that the official time was from when the runner crossed the start line to when they crossed the finish line.

The race began for the elite woman’s race and the wheel chair entrants at 10.15. They got a flyer from the off and were a long way down the course before the masses began. The masses started with the elite men’s race. The gun was fired, there was a big surge and nobody moved until the first rows filtered out of the start.

The route followed mainly dual carriage-way through Gateshead to South Shields. The first mile took in a number of under passes until the race crossed the Tyne Bridge. A fantastic sight as thousands of runners flowed over the bridge. From there it was similar surroundings passing the Gateshead Athletic track over a number of roundabouts until the 9th or so mile. Here the route climbed gradually through the main street of a suburb of South Shields. A tricky section where the majority of runners stopped to take a breather. At the top of the climb the race took a step downhill, passed the Marsden pub and then took a left. The last mile was downhill along the coast to the finish line.

The Team had four runners in the Great North Run, Mick (running for ‘mind’), Ali (running for ‘The Dogs Trust’), Mick and Steph (running for ‘Cancer research’). It was a very early start to the day for the guys. After a very hearty breakfast (fry up ofcourse) and a 1 hour drive the guys arrived in South Sheilds, the finish of the course. The task then was to get the bus to the start. getting the bus didn't seem a problem. The problem was getting a bus driver that knew the way to the start. However after getting lost a couple of times the local driver managed to remember where he was and got everyone to the start. From then on it was a battle to get to the start.

The team hustled and bustled their way to the line of 50,000 people. On the way they passed the famous peoples pad, got a glimse of the Ashes and got covered in mud. It was impossible to get to the back so 20minutes after the start gun went the team had to jump the barrier to get a chance of running. The first stretch was an electric atmosphere, all they way to the bridge. From then on though, it was hot and very frustrating. It was impossible to get into any rythem, due to the amount of people darting around in front.

It was an extremly tough run, not because of the undulating terrain but because of the heat. You could have added 20minutes on to most peoples times because of the heat and the amount of people. At last the finish neared. The amount of people collapsing must've been an all time high. The finishing village was massive, it even inclucded a beer tent, which probably wasn't the most sensible thing to have. Anyway even though the times were slow the weekend was worth it. Roll on the next half marathon.

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