Cash for Kids

GREAT NORTH RUN 2011

 

We did do it in two hours, one minute and 20 seconds, which was a quarter of an hour faster than we expected. Katie had done one 12 miler in training but neither of us had trained as much as we had wanted because of the diving holiday in Turkey. So we were really chuffed. For more detailed results visit www.greatrun.org and enter our bib numbers: Katie's was 22176 and mine was 25323. Katie did particularly well in the female 17-34 category.

Camilla was even more tired than we were from her strenuous efforts to support our run. First she had to whiz off to buy Katie proper running shorts because Katie had decided not to put some on that morning, then dump the car and race down the edge of the start area to reach our sector before we set off. Then back in the car to Sunderland and having dumped two bikes at the finish she had to fight her way through the Tyne tunnel, park the car near the north exit, jump on the third bike, pedal to the pedestrian tunnel under the Tyne, negotiating 70 steep wooden steps on the old escalator which was out of  order, then find her way through a maze of streets back to the finish in order to meet up at the family reunion area. She did all that in 2 hours and 35 minutes. Now that is a record!

The run started in bright sunshine which bounced off the spokes of the wheel chair runners who always lead off the GNR. Katie wore a sign ’17 today’ on her back and received many wishes from other runners. Then the Red Arrows streaked overhead trailing their tricolour wake but this time they flew again in an altered formation to mark the absence of their colleague who died in an accident a few weeks ago. His wife was also running that day for his favourite charity.

Once we crossed the Tyne Bridge the muscles had to stretch to take us up to the highest point on the course about five miles from the start. We were separated only once when my laces came undone. At the eighth milestone I realised I had too much on but just as I was about to strip off a layer the rain started. Mile 9 and 10 were not good and I was definitely feeling the looming presence of a large brick wall at the eleventh until we crested the last hill and saw the sea. Katie grabbed some jellybabies to keep me going. She said she faced her wall 800 metres from the end, but we both knew we were close to the two hour mark and we kept going. We ran over the finish line together in glorious sunshine. I think the reason why we did it so quickly was that neither one of us wanted to let the other down. Camilla joined us half an hour later and we pedalled back through the tunnel to the car and then to a hot shower and a delicious high tea with one of Katie’s old school friends in Tynemouth.

So thank you for your support. Regarding the charity Cash for Kids I spoke to Dan Smith in the courtesy tent afterwards while Katie had a massage. He helps to assess the worthiness of claims made to the trustees who manage the fund and he mentioned plans were being drawn up to spend a large amount on a new building project to be made public shortly.

What a day and what a way to spend your birthday – Katie has another 69 GNR’s to go!

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