Sarah takes part in the Great North Run
Every year, over 60,000 runners gather for the world’s largest half marathon, the Great North Run, and this year I was lucky enough to be one of them! The first GNR took place in 1981 and now runners travel from all over the world to take part in this famous race in the lovely North East.
The humbling and undulating 13.1-mile route takes you from the centre of Newcastle, across the iconic Tyne Bridge and all the way out to the coast, finishing at South Shields.
I arrived in Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, prepared my kit and trainers and got ready for an early start! We dropped our bags on the buses on Sunday morning ready to collect at South Shields, many runners making the same joke “ooh, I might just stay on here and meet you at the finish!”
The atmosphere on the start line was amazing – friends taking pre-race photos, words of encouragement and last-minute dashes to the porta loo! It was a rather rainy day but that didn’t stop the crowds coming out in full force – you wouldn’t have thought it was raining.
The race was started this year by Olympian Kieran Reilly who hails from Gateshead and was proudly sporting his silver medal from the Paris Olympics this year.
The support and atmosphere along the way were honestly nothing short of incredible.
Families and children lined the streets, handing out jelly babies, orange wedges, ice pops and high fives. I lost count of the number of steel drums, charity buses, bands and choirs cheering us along.
The route itself is definitely not flat, and the first few miles deceivingly downhill! I started to struggle on the hills after halfway but after plugging in my music, encouragement from my lovely sister who ran with me and some sweets to fuel us, we were soon on the final stretch. The lovely Sarah and Daisy cheered me on to the finish and I managed a PB of 1 hour 50 mins and 4 seconds. Absolutely chuffed!
Well done to everyone who took part on Sunday, especially those running for charity and in fancy dress – you are all amazing! Thank you, Newcastle, for making my first Great North Run one to remember, it certainly won’t be my last.
If you’re feeling inspired, the ballot for next year’s Great North Run is open until Friday the 13th of September at midday and you can sign up here.
