Great North Run 2016: My First Ever Half Marathon

Why Sign Up

About a year and a half of running. Parkruns on Saturday mornings, the occasional short race, nothing more. A mate mentioned the Great North Run ballot, entered on a whim. The acceptance email arrived and the panic set in. Never run more than 5 kilometres.

But the Great North Run is one of those races everyone in the North East grows up watching on TV. The elite athletes on the Tyne Bridge, the crowds from Newcastle to South Shields. Could not pass it up.

The Training

A basic 12-week plan that slowly built the distance up. The first 10 kilometre run felt like a massive achievement. The first 15 was hard. But every week the long run got a little longer and the confidence grew.

Still very much a beginner. Pace, nutrition, tapering — none of it makes sense yet. Just running the distances the plan says and hoping for the best.

Race Day

Nothing prepares you for the atmosphere. 57,000 runners crossing the Tyne Bridge with Red Arrows flying overhead. Absolutely enormous. Goosebumps for the entire first mile.

The course from Newcastle to South Shields is undulating — not flat, not hilly, but enough ups and downs to test the legs. Stuck to a comfortable pace and tried not to get swept up by the crowd, which is easier said than done when 57,000 people are running alongside you.

Finished in 1:55:16. Seeing the seafront at South Shields and knowing the finish was close — nearly cried. Hard to explain what crossing a half marathon finish line feels like when you have never done it before. Everything put into training, every early morning, every wet run — all comes down to that moment.

What Now

Not sure what is next. More halves maybe, some 10Ks over winter. All that matters right now is that feeling at the finish line. Want to experience that again.