Great North Run - short review

[JP the Dream Chaser]

Hi guys

Well, I did it (again). My 3rd GNR in a row and my last for a while I think. My day was problematic and the race somewhat of an anticlimax. However:

On the morning, I rose early and started drinking. Soon after, my stomach became more upset than usual before a race. Then breakfast at the B&B. Then back to the loo! And again. And again (I won't go into details).

My exploits on the loo meant a very late start to the drive into Newcastle (about 45 mins usually). After an horrendous journey and terrible trouble parking, then a walk to the start, I arrived with only 10 mins to spare. A quick pee and a climb over barriers once the gun went and I was away. 4 minutes til I crossed the start line, then people. Soooo many people. Worse than ever. Couldn't speed up. Lost 2 minutes from schedule by mile 2.

Then, a terrible stitch. I never get stitches, so this was a surprise. Even water made it worse. Controlled breathing, all that stuff, but no joy. So, it was a matter of pushing on as fast as possible and bearing as much pain as possible to maintain some kind of respectable pace. I seemed to pull some time back in the middle, but the stitch worsened. I drank as much as I could and pressed on. The heat was powerful, but not an issue for me as I live in similar temperatures all year.

By mile 10, I was slowing and the pain increasing. The Macmillan cheerers gave me a lift at 10.5 miles and then again at 12m. The last mile was run at 6.30 pace, so desperate was my ambition to do well.

So, considering the above and the fact that it was my precious Mum's funeral on Thursday, 3 days before the race, I can't complain at the result I guess: Position 828 Time 1hr33.30min.

I realise I may sound overly deflated by this, but you can imagine my thoughts: "what if I didn't have the stomach, the hassle at the start and the stitch?". I was in great shape going into it and was hoping for a fairytale ending by breaking one and a half hours for the first time in my life, but it'll have to wait for a smaller local race sometime eh. Maybe the London Marathon will be my chance to shine?

I'll let you know...