Great North Run – Sunday 10th September 2017
On Sunday 10th September six Jags were amongst the 43,127 finishers of the world’s largest Half Marathon, The Great North Run.
The extremely large crowd of runners had gathered at the mass start in the middle of Newcastle on the central motorway, ready to begin their 13.1 mile journey to the finish on The Leas in South Shields. After the Elite athletes including Sir Mo Farah were introduced to the crowds via several large screens, Brendan Foster fired the starting gun to get the event under way. Shortly after the race start, runners were treated to a fly-by from the famous Red Arrows, a long standing tradition of the Great North Run.
Just before mile two, runners made their way over the main landmark, the Tyne Bridge, and on into Gateshead where they found many people lining the roads cheering on family, friends, and other passing runners. The route continued out of Gateshead, and wound its way on to Heworth and South Tyneside.
Along the route runners were treated to numerous bands and singers as entertainment at almost every mile marker. Numerous water stations and Lucozade stops were split over the length of the course to keep runners hydrated, and unless my eyes deceived me, a cheeky beer stop had been created around mile 10 with beer being served by the side of the road (possibly by the local community!) in plastic cups.
The route eventually wound towards South Shields where after a steep downhill you entered on to the seafront road – a long, straight, last mile which on the day was rather blustery. Large crowds helped draw the runners towards the finish, where they were rewarded with a great medal & goodie bag.
Depending on your starting point, it may not be a PB course due to the sheer amount of runners sharing the same stretches of road – unless of course you are Neil Button who recorded a new PB of 1:34:02. Well done to all who took part!
Angela Bell
Name | Time | PBs | Standard |
---|---|---|---|
Neil Button | 1.34.02 | YES | GOLD |
Angela Gallen- Bell | 2.14.11 | ||
Clive Cartner | 2.14.11 | ||
Carolyn Gerber | 2.29.52 | ||
Paul Gerber | 2.30.22 | ||
Barbara Button | 2.37.52 |