Due to injury I’d waited till Wednesday nights 5km New Marske race to decide to go to the Great North Run but having a rare chance to start in the elite field with some of the worlds best was something I was very keen to do and to be honest was enough to make my day before the gun even went off!
The race itself was a windy one to say the least! The third mile was the last time I looked at splits. A combination of the wind and lack of race fitness it wasn’t a day to worry about times and when there were so many entertaining bands and also hearing familiar voices along the way there was no worry about getting despondent. The last mile was something very special…. Helicopters overhead, lead bikes flying past, crowds thick and loud to see the elite men who were chasing me down very quickly as they started 25 minutes behind. I almost slowed to make sure they did fly past me but the competitive me wouldn’t allow so instead with 100 meters to go I was ushered off into a side field missing them finish.
Racing in the elite field resulted in some pretty cool experiences and was definitely worth the solo parts and battering head wind ! Hopefully I’ll be back next year!