On the 8th September, 18 GRC members took themselves across the Tyne to the start line of the world’s largest half marathon, The Great North Run!
True to form, while standing amongst 60,000 runners, waiting to tackle the 13.1-mile course from Newcastle to South Shields, the heavens opened. Undeterred (well, they had driven 3 hours to get there), the runners from the plains of Lincolnshire, set off towards the iconic Tyne Bridge with crowds of supporters ringing in their ears. As they took on the undulating course soaking up the incredible atmosphere, (and rain), it was clear that the weather wouldn’t get the better of any of them.
First home was Gavin Potter (right), crashing in (quite literally) with a phenomenal PB of 1:18:57! Revved up by the enthusiasm and encouragement from the crowds, Gavin used the torrential weather to push himself to victory.
Piers Pye-Watson followed closely in his wake with a time of 1:23:54.
Closely chasing them down, Robin Atter (left, pictured with Holly Durham), having done ‘The Big Half’ the weekend before, was returning from injury and secured his GNR PB of 1:33:49. Running the race with Holly Durham, who came in with an impressive 1:34:05, Robin said, “the miles just seemed to fly by”.
Next, Rachel Hamilton (below) flew in with an amazing 1.37.19 just a minute off her PB. For Rachel, the GNR weekend started on the Saturday with her daughter, Jess, following in mum’s rapid footsteps, completing the mini GNR.
On the Sunday, Rachel saw better conditions than she had faced last year. The Hamilton ladies loved every minute of it and for them, Newcastle never fails to deliver. Both Rachel and Jess were running for Lincs and Notts air ambulance.
After running his last half Marathon somewhat closer to home, in Nottingham last year, Johnny Gilbert shaved 6 minutes off his PB. Running in at 1:42:40 paving the way for Balint Beni, who clocked in with 1:46:03.
Carlene Veasey (right) made an incredible time of 1:50:22 after deciding only a fortnight before that she would take on the challenge. Nursing an IT band injury, Carlene used sheer grit (and a few paracetamol) to complete the 13.1 miles…this was her sole goal for the event. Considering her limitations, she was thrilled with her time and enjoyed the whole GNR experience.
Running together were Karl Clark completing with a comfortable 1:51:54 and Luanne Morton with a new PB of 1:52:46. Luanne had a great race, despite the rain and losing an AirPod in a stampede. She ran the last 3 miles through gritted teeth as she knocked an enormous 11 minutes off her PB and 20 minutes off last years’ time.
Stuart Baty (left) hurled himself into the triple header! To kick off the weekend, he completed the Quayside 5k on Friday, a misty Town Moor PR Saturday, followed by Sunday’s main event. Getting his GNR PB in 2021 on the Out and Back course, Stuart picked up another PB for the regular route this year in 1:52:35.
Raising over £600 for Marie Curie, Emma Duncan took on her 4th, and by far, her coldest, GNR. Driven by the atmosphere along the whole route, Emma managed to get a course PB 1:53:34 which scraped off over 8mins from last year. Over the moon with this achievement, Emma is now hanging up her GNR trainers!
Blighted by a knee injury from the very start, Kev Wallace started to succumb to the strain in the second half of the race. After being driven for the first 7 miles by the fantastic crowd, there was no running away from the difficulty it was causing. Kev dug deep to get the job done, and considering his struggle, he came in with an impressive 1:55:47.
Taking on his first GNR, Sam Caton (right) was over the moon as he raced in with a time of 02:05:11, a new PB by over 8 minutes. After the heat in the capital last week for London’s Big Half, the cooler temperatures and the cracking atmosphere of the North, were welcomed.
Next came Amy Jennison (left), thrilled to throw herself over the line in 2:05:24. Taking on her first ever half marathon event, Amy had decided to go for the most notorious she could find. Injury threw her off course earlier in the year, rendering her sub-2-hour dream, redundant.
Nevertheless, drowning her sorrows with a cheeky beer at mile 10, the whole event managed to fan the flames of determination.
Laura Pigott was next back in a time of 2:28:02, but Tracey Gell (left) was hot on her heels with a completion time of 2:35:43. After a horrible, wet start, waiting in her wave amongst the chaos, Tracey was boosted by the amazing support all the way round (despite her soggy feet). Unfortunately, she didn’t manage a PB this time as the sheer size of the event meant that Tracey’s wave was so busy with walkers, it became a job to weave in and out of the masses. Apart from that disappointment, Tracey found the GNR enjoyable and was pleased with her time.
Wrapping up the trek oop norf, was Emma Hopkinson who had a novel idea for a mother/daughter outing. Rather than a relaxing spa day or a trip to Eldon Square, Emma, running the GNR for the sixth time, and daughter, Grace, opted for Jelly Babies and beer while they giggled their way around the course. The pair came in at 3:17:18 to celebrate Grace’s first official event!
Sadly, after climbing uphill to mile 12, there was no canny deek of the North Sea to crank up the adrenaline as the runners went for that final sprint along the coastal mile. While the Great British Summer of 2024 tried all it could to ruin the day, it failed to get the better of anyone.
Everyone came away with a smile, more bling, another synthetic t-shirt, and a slight Geordie twang for the love of the locals. Overall, Canny bag o’ Tudas, that, like!