From Alex Hyde…
And so the ‘big’ races are back! A staggered start (over 3 hours!) and a revised route meant that the 40th Great North Run could take place safely and I have to say the organisation was tremendous. Apparently there were 57,000 signed up for the race and although there were noticeably fewer supporters lining the route than in previous years, there was still an amazing atmosphere, especially with the bonus of crossing the Tyne Bridge twice. For me personally it was a bit of a battle just to get to the start line for my first race since the Dewsbury 10k some 19 months ago. I had managed to keep training through Covid (sort of!) but then had a badly sprained ankle in February followed by the return of a bothersome piriformis …. quite literally a pain in the backside … meaning that my prep for the race was pretty much non-existent. My pace through the first 15k was pleasingly consistent though averaging just over 6 mins/km, but then the wheels fell off with the last 6k averaging over 7.5 mins/km. But I got to the end! A time of 2:22:11 and a placing of 18,980th is hardly going to set the world alight, but it put a smile on this old bloke’s face!