PUMA Points Great North Run Running Bug Captains’ Weekender:

If I were able to summarise one weekend into a single word it would be “wow!”. However; this is me we are speaking about, and we all know that the me you know can’t just simply write a single word. Nor can I simply write a short sentence to summarise what was a weekend that will; most likely; stay with me for a very; very; long time.

I won’t bore you with all of the travel and pre-race antics that took place, but let me at least summarise this into as short a paragraph as I can; simply to give you a feel for what contributed to a very memorable weekend, with people who I now truly consider to be dear friends. 

The weekend I speak of was that of the Great North Run; Saturday September 12th to Sunday 13th; and yet another event that myself and the other captains of The Running Bug PUMA Challenge had been privileged enough to be given entry in to, all expenses paid.

Travelling up to Newcastle was simple enough, as was meeting up with the other captains, and getting booked into our hotel etc… What was amusing was trying to get into the restaurant for dinner, and breakfast in the hotel the morning of the race; both of which had been pre-booked yet no bookings existed when it came to the time of going for either.

The down side to the entire weekend was not having any captain from Team Drive with us due to injuries. The previous captain; Nikki; being out with an issue to her foot, and then subsequently Ruth; the newly elected captain of the team; also having to bow out due to an ankle injury! Team Drive really do have a dark cloud over them this month and we all wish both ladies a speedy recovery.

Overall my race wasn’t a good one, and there were reasons for this; however, my run itself was awesome.

The mistakes were made from the night before where I treated myself a sweet treat at dinner; a nice coconut and passion fruit sorbet! It was so tasty but I generally try and stick to pre-race routines for a reason; A: no sweet treats, and B: no alcohol. I also generally don’t eat a breakfast before a race; or any run for that matter; unless the race start time is very late in the morning, in which case I will normally have a whole-wheat bagel with peanut butter and slices of banana. Breakfast at the hotel consisted of a bowl of granola; with strawberry yoghurt; for starters and then a small plate of warm breakfast; some scrambled egg (which I didn’t end up eating as it was powdered egg and had gone very bouncy), a fried egg; still slightly undercooked still; and a small spoonful of baked beans with a single slice of bacon. As said; much more food than I would ever normally eat before any run, or race! Why the hell did I eat it then? Well; it was there, I felt hungry, and I wasn’t sure what to expect after the run or how long it would be until we would be able to eat again properly. Little did I know that the VIP tent would be filled with an endless supply of extremely good food.

We finished up breakfast, packed our bags, checked out of the of our rooms and stored our baggage in a safe room provided by the hotel until we returned later in the day. It would have been a wise decision to ask the hotel to book us a taxi for later in the day then and there, but hindsight is a wonderful thing isn’t it?

So off we walked down to the starting area; it was time to get our head in the game.

Now; I know I am a super pain in the arse when it comes to planning things. I like to know what I’m doing, when I’m doing it etc… and whilst it was really good to be with Stuart and Lauren (the other two captains from team Energy and Ignite); and even nicer of Stuart to let me store a few items in his race kit bag; it was driving my mind crazy! If you tell me that something starts at a certain time, then I like to be there early. If you tell me that I need to be inside the starting blocks by a certain time because the gates will close at a certain time, I need to be in before that time. I do not like leaving things until the last minute. It makes my mind; and body; go crazy, and that does not allow for a nice relaxing build up to my race. My legs get twitchy, my skin gets itchy and my brain ticks over at a thousand clicks per minute with worry. I am literally like a ticking time bomb inside, so to be with two people who seemingly don’t appear to worry about a thing; or how long anything takes to do; was a test of every single fibre I had within me. The announcers were calling out to everybody stating that the baggage busses would be leaving at 10:05am, so imagine my twitchiness when we were still milling around at 10am, with a road heaving full with other runners all wanting to get their bags onto the same specified busses!

I don’t intentionally aim to be like that, it just seems to be the way I am, I can’t control it. I know that it is silly, I know that the worst will not happen etc… and I know that it is extremely frustrating for those around me having to deal with me being like that, but as I said, I can’t help it, it just seems to be the way I am. It’s why I am so meticulous when it comes to planning my runs, my training, my race day rituals etc… having that attention to detail helps to ease my nerves, but I know I’m a pain in the arse about it, it annoys the hell out of my wife, and I totally understand why.

In the end everything was indeed fine. We got our bags onto the busses, and we got ourselves down into the starting blocks where we then had to wait for about 40mins to start. I did feel sorry for Lauren though who was starting a lot further back in the field; on her own; whilst Stuart and I were up at the front right behind the elite runners. I must admit though, it is such a nice feeling being able to finally put myself into specific finishing times in order to start further up the field. When I saw the highlights on television later in the day I looked at the heaving masses of people on the road and just thought back to my London Marathon, and how congested it was. It wasn’t the most enjoyable thing I have ever experienced I must admit!

I honestly don’t know why they bother with warm up sessions before races, personally I don’t actually see any benefit to them as there isn’t enough room for you to perform any of the routines effectively, and they completely knacker you out before you’ve even started! The warm up prior to the start of this race was even longer I thought, as it felt like it went on for ages!

Eventually the time came, the gun went off, and we began our journey. Stuart was aiming at a sub 1hr25 race so I knew that he would be off like a rocket. I was aiming for a sub 90 race, and had planned the race strategy perfectly; split the event into 4 sectors of 5km sectors with each sector having its own specific pace avg.

 Sector 1 = 4:30pkm; sector 2 = 4:20; sector 3 = 4:15 and then sector 4 @ 4:10

This would put my 5k splits at: 22:30 – 21:40 – 21:15 – 20:50 = 86:15 (1:26:15) with 1.1km to go to finish. This meant that I would need to run the final 1.1km in 3:30, or at least squeeze that km and a bit in somewhere.

Looking back at it I am definitely going to have to work on this strategy a bit more as running a 3:30 km is not something I am keen on doing in a half marathon.

Anyway; the race had started and we were flying. My first 5k was completed in 20:54, so well ahead of schedule. This was filling me with confidence and I felt really good, if I could keep that pace up I would be well on my way to a sub 90 race and a smacked out PB, but then the sun started to have an effect and the route started to climb.

The biggest thing for me was the level of support, it was like a mini London Marathon, it was immense, so many people, but I was trying to focus on my race and was busy working things out in my head. How many specific pace km had I completed? What did I have in the bag? I had completed two 4min15 sets, a 4min and effectively two 4min10 sets. I was so focussed on trying to work out how many pace sets I had completed, what I had left and how many I had left to run etc… that I was forgetting what I was doing; I was running the Great North Run, and the event was passing me by.

My second 5km sector was completed in 22:19; which effectively meant that I was actually still on target to hit my sub 90, even though I had eased off the gas considerably through km 6-10 due to the uphill section in through km 6,7 & 8.

I was busy working out that if I could match my first 10km, then the second would still be a PB. If I could hit two 44min 10k runs I would be looking at 1hr28 which would leave me with just over 4mins in which to run the final 1.1km. It wouldn’t give me a sub 90, but it would still give me a PB given that my current is sitting at 1:32:37

So that was now my target. The race strategy was crumbling; as the heat started to really settle in; and the term “cut your losses” was ringing in my ears. “Just do what you need to do to get through; you can run a 44min 10k easily!” and that was what was so annoying; I can run a 10k in 44mins easily, so why was I finding this so hard?

My third 5k sector wasn’t actually bad, and when I look at my Strava race stats (https://www.strava.com/activities/391750518) I was still on target to achieve what I had set out to do by scoring a Half Marathon PB. Actually; looking at my stats again properly now for the first time I am really annoyed at myself because I can now see that it was indeed from the 14^th km that I crumbled. The 14^th km; 7km from the finish. 7km is nothing; to me! What the hell went wrong? I blame the inclines!

I actually ran the third 5k sector in 22:31, and was still running sub 4:30 averages per km which meant that I; technically; still had an entire sector of 4:30pkm averages to be able to run, but that 14^th km nailed me; and it was there that my head left the game. I ran a 4:46 in the 14^th, and once my head said no more, that was it; I was done mentally; so I switched off the race pacer in my head and just kicked back.

I took in the event, absorbed the joy of the Great North Run, looked at the other runners around me, started to high five the kids on the side of the road, desperately clambering for palm slaps from the endless stream of runners passing them by. I started appreciating the crowd cheering us all on, cheering on complete strangers as if we all knew one another. Whenever we ran through high crowd areas I raised my hands in the air and applauded the support, my way of showing appreciation for the northern hospitality. I enjoyed a joke or two with fellow runners who appeared to also now be taking it easier, engaged in a few friendly convos with one or two of the folks that ran alongside me. I simply enjoyed the run for a change, instead of raced it, something I haven’t done for a long time.

As I came into the final stretch I was actually overwhelmed with just how cool the finishing straight was and just how many people there were. In truth, I actually think the finale to the GNR is better than the that of the London Marathon. I liked how close the crowd were to the runners, how many people there were, the fact that there were bannisters for them to fill up on. It really did add to the spectacle of the event itself.

What I didn’t enjoy was the distance that you had to trek from the finish straight all the way down to the baggage busses and meeting points, though I can appreciate the organisation and need for it due to the number of people that there were finishing.

Thankfully Stuart had finished way before me, and had therefore been to collect his bag and made his way back up to the finish area where the VIP tent was situated. This was where we were all to meet after finishing so that we could continue our weekend in style and be treated to a much more relaxing post-race schedule than having to compete with the hordes of finishers behind us. I must admit, it did feel rather good walking back up the finishing convoy as each and every marshal tried to stop me; “sorry mate, keep going that way please!”. A brief explanation of where I was headed and that was that, no need for dealing with the crowd.

As I entered the VIP tent I suddenly realised who was walking beside me, none other than one of my absolute idols; Prof Brian Cox!  

The man is simply one of the nicest, and most gentlemanly people I have ever met. At no point did he make me feel like I was an annoyance or anything. We spoke about the run as we walked to our tables, at which point I congratulated him on his effort and left him for a few minutes to allow him time to get seated and a bit more relaxed. It wasn’t until a little later that I approached him again and asked for a photo, to which he was more than happy to accept.

We also then got to meet the legend herself; Paula Radcliffe; and managed to get a group photo with her. Stuart then admitted that he deleted the photo by mistake so I went to find her in order to get a personal pic with her; it was here that I embarrassed myself more than ever before in my life! As I approached her I called out to her; “excuse me…Jo (after Jo Pavey)!” Although she did turn around; with a smile on her face; I realised within a second what I had just said, and literally crumbled before her in a mass of stupidity and with hand over mouth admitted; “Oh my god I just called you Jo! I’m so sorry!” Paula merely chuckled at me and let me get a pic with her! Yet again; another immensely warm; and friendly; person!

The VIP tent closed up at 15:15 which meant that we needed to get to the train station in order to get back up to Newcastle to get our bags before heading off back down south.

I can safely say right now, that if there is ever a reason for anybody to work hard at their running in order to try and increase their pace, it is to avoid the masses of people that finish in the later times. I am not taking anything away from these people; in fact I think these people deserve more mention than the people who finish in my time zones. For me it is isn’t that hard to finish a half marathon distance in the 1hr35 region. I find that I can run rather comfortably and enjoyably too; but I have worked hard to get to that level; and it isn’t even as fast as a lot of other runners out there yet. For someone to be running a half marathon in 2.5-3 or even more hours must take such enormous determination, and then having to fight through huge crowds of people as everyone filters through to get their deserving medals and goody bags etc… If I had to deal with that kind of crowd every time I went into a race I don’t think I would be bothering as I would find that far too stressful a thing to be dealing with after having just spent that amount of time on my feet running myself silly.

I have an eternal amount of respect for those people who finish in the latter stages of these event; if you are one of them then you should feel so proud of yourself for a multitude of reasons. You push through barriers that 99.9% of the rest of the population; other runners included; will more than likely sit back and simply so “no chance!” to. You have the determination of every single champion athlete out there; if you didn’t you wouldn’t finish. Take a bow because you deserve every single round of applause that rang out across that finishing straight from every single crowd member that was still there cheering you on.

So off we went, off to the train station to start the merry little journey back to Newcastle from Sunny South Shields, but there were still a lot of people, and there were a lot of people walking in the same direction as us, and then a queue appeared to have formed; a queue that seemed to stretch for an endless distance.

The four of us walked on; Stuart, Lauren, myself and Virgil; our Running Bug organiser.

“What is that queue for do you think?” I asked as we all began to look at one another.

“I think that might be the queue for the train you know!” replied Stuart with a chuckle.

Someone within our group was in sheer disbelief at what trailed down the pavement along which we walked. Someone within our group stopped to ask members of said queue where that queue actually lead, and if it was indeed the queue for the train. Someone even approached a few of the policeman that stood alongside said queue asking about options that could be taken to avoid what would be a very hefty waiting time; to which the policeman simply laughed “what more do you expect on what is possibly the biggest event of the year for this area?”

The words; “no chance!” were repeated on more than one occasion, in a matter of a few minutes, amid a chorus of laughter from myself and other members of our group.

To be fair, it was; without a doubt; the longest queue for anything that I have ever seen in my life, and we all surmised the waiting time to be in excess of at least 4 hours. The decision was made to find a taxi cab instead, but even that was a tall ask as we waited for at least two hours for an available cab to come by. We had even toyed with the idea of jogging the 13.1miles back to Newcastle as that would be infinitely quicker than having to wait around for cabs; busses or trains.

I have tried to write about the cab journey home a few times now; I’ve actually written this entire blog post about three or four times to be honest; but I have had to edit and re-edit so many times because some things are only appreciated when you are actually there. Let’s just say that the cab ride back to Newcastle was exactly that; something that had to be appreciated then and there. There was nothing untoward about it, but there were certain events; and conversations; that happened which had us all chuckling amongst ourselves very heavily. It was most certainly the funniest cab ride I have ever experienced. Our cabbie; Jason; was also good enough to give us a free lift from the hotel to the train station as he had stopped his timer from before we even arrived at the hotel stating that it was all good and the fee was what it was at that point. Top bloke; yeah yeah!

Eventually we were all on our specific trains; homeward bound; Virgil and I found a perch in the drinks cabin where I treated him to a beer after everything that he; and The Running Bug; had treated us to, Stuart was further back down the carriages in his reserved seating, and Lauren was on a different train altogether beginning her venture all the way back to Swansea!

I eventually got home at about 22:05pm after having to catch the different trains and spending 45 minutes lapping the platform at Peterborough station about 30 times as I paced up and down platforms 2 and 3. I couldn’t sit down as I knew that If I did my body would probably take to the comfort and beg for sleep. I even appreciated a little jog home once I reached my final station; a nice little 1.8km trot from station to front door felt like a wise thing to do if I wanted to get home as soon as possible after having spent the better part of the last six and a half hours on my feet. 

All in all the Great North Run was a brilliant weekend for me personally. A great weekend spent with a few great people who I would happily call friends, and with whom I would very easily spend another weekend of running with.

A massive thanks needs to go to The Running Bug, and to PUMA for everything that they did for us; I think that I speak for each of us when I say that we really do/did appreciate everything.

PS: for the record; Stuart won the day with a finishing time of (I think) 1:24:51. I finished my run in 1:35:33 and Lauren finished in a very respectable 2:11:14 (I think).