"Jog on the Tyne" (sorry, I couldn't resist) (Great North Run (BUPA))

Member Name: alexlea88

Product:	Great North Run (BUPA)
Date:	25/08/09 (72 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A real sense of occasion. The Charity Village is a must.

Disadvantages: Too many people to post a serious time

I used to live in Newcastle and every year saw the Great North Run going on in my back yard (not literally). I considered giving it a go, but never go past 30 minutes on the treadmill down the gym.

Fast-forward eight years and I had become quite the jogger, and had taken part in a few fun runs and shorter races locally, so I decided to fulfil an ambition. I signed up through the Alzheimer's Society and made my preparations.

The Great North Run is part of the Great Run series of events all over the country, but the Great North Run is by far the most popular and widely known. I seem to remember someone saying 52000 people took part last year, but I may be wrong.

And herein lies the problem.

The Great North Run is a fantastic event, with a real feeling of occasion; spectacle and you really do feel like part of something big. The whole pre-event organisation, the race itself and the finishing area etc are all well organised and there's plenty to see and do for everyone, not just the runners themselves.

What got to me and my brother, who ran the race with me was the sheer number of people and the problems that brought with it. Not only does Newcastle grind to a halt (you really need to get there the day before and bus it in) but the number of starters means that it's impossible to stagger the start according to speed. The Robin Hood Marathon, which I did last years as well, lines competitors up by projected finish time, which means that you are roughly placed with people at your level (even so, I still managed to overtake about 200 people). But then it's straightforward enough when there are only 10000 entries.

With the huge number of runners in the Great North Run, there's no way to do that. Also, combined with that, is the fact that a half marathon isn't that long and can be completed by the majority of people, so you get a lot of people who are doing it for a bit of fun. As a result, we were trying to get past people for the whole length of the course, and people were walking after two miles, which is just crazy. A quick view of message boards after the event supported our view that maybe the Great North Run has become a victim of it's own success - this is no place for a personal best!

The course itself is pretty boring. Given the number of runners, it sticks to main roads out of Newcastle, which are pretty straight and featureless. I personally like to have plenty to look at which takes my mind off the pain and the fact that I'm running 13 miles, but all you get on the course is miles of A-Roads stretching out in front of you for long periods.

There are huge crowds and plenty of people cheering you on, handing out sweets and bananas (runners staple foodstuffs mid-race) but it's not the most interesting course by a long shot.

The finish is cramped as the course bottlenecks into South Shields, which means you can't always do a sprint finish but the charity village is great, with a huge number of charity tents offering massages, food, drink and entertainment to their runners - my advice; get on a team. It's worth it simply for the welcome you get when you get down there from the finish line. There's also usually photographers down there as well (I managed to get myself on the Alzheimer's website).

All in all, the Great North Run is a fantastic event and really worth the effort in terms of training, travel and hassle, but as such a famous event, it has become a victim of its own success. If you want to take part in a half marathon, I'd thoroughly recommend it, but if you are looking for more of a serious run, then you should either steer well clear, or make sure you are close to the front.

Summary: Get close to the front, otherwise, sit back and enjoy the occasion.