I unexpectedily ran the Great North Run after a girl from my gym was no longer able to and offered me her place. I knew it could be a once in a life time experience and had heard good (and bad) things about it. Either way I was really excited at the chance to run an iconic race. I had no expectations of how the race was going to go due to the rolling hills, sheer number of runners, and decided to run it for the experience.
There were plenty of toilets, but not enough for the number of runners and spectators that were in the start area. Considering there was an incredibly large field, the could have put in a lot more toilets near the start line.
The start area felt chaotic, similar to the Great Birmingham 10k - they had the 'world runners' right at the front and would set out right behind the elites. This seems incredibly dangerous as a great number of these runners would not be able to run at the pace of the elite runners, and faster runners would spend a lot of time dodging around them. Given how long it took me to cross the start line, I was picking off a number of the world runners within the first 5 miles. It is not safe nor is it fair to these runners or those behind them who are running at a faster pace. It is a brilliant idea to them, but they should be in their predicted finishing time area.
I'd never been at a race so large that had security guards manning the very narrow and single opening into the starting pens. The security guards were incredibly heavy handed grabbing runners be the neck of their shirts and pulling out as they tried to enter. A great number of runners were not even allowed in their start pens and forced to start in later pens despite there being a great deal of room. It was unnecessary for them to be so heavy handed and made no sense that they were not allowing runners into the start areas despite there being plenty of room, and the race starting imminently.
One of the things I was looking forward to most was seeing the Red Arrows fly over. However, given how long it takes to cross the start line, I was running under the overpass and missed them completely. I had hoped that perhaps they'd make a second fly over but alas did not get to see them at all.
The spectator support was phenomenal and I do not remember a single part of the race that did not have any spectators. I really enjoyed the music and bands they had at various points during the race, specially the group who played Don't Stop Believing as we ran around a roundabout, prompting me and two friends (a.k.a Batman and Robin) to belt it out as we ran.
The shower stations were a really nice touch on the route. I didn't use them as I felt okay, but I'd love to see them at more races (especially in the summer).
The route was very congested at times due to the sheer number of runners, but when it narrows it is made even worse. There were a few times (especially on the last downhill) when there would be groups of runners walking multiple people across and in the middle of the road. It made it frustrating and borderline dangerous (especially when running downhill) to get around.
The route itself was not overly unique as you spend a good chunk of it running along the ringroad. However, running across Tyne Bridge and down into South Shield was AMAZING. Seeing the sea as you head down the last downhill and into the last mile of the race was gorgeous and it made me well up.
The support especially along the last mile was amazing from both spectators and runners. So many people were encouraging eachother to keep going, and seeing runners helping eachother when they were in distress made me remember why I love the running community so much - nobody gets left behind.
The finishers area was great, although the finish line hurt. I like to finish strong and broke into a sprint as I felt I had a lot left in my legs. However, as I crossed the finish line despite the marshalls trying their best to tell runners to keep moving/run a bit further the people directly infront of me came to a complete halt. This resulted in me coming to a complete halt and the people behind me crashing into me.
I did think the finishers area was great and well organised. There is a huge charity villeage and there seemed to be a lot of food/drink options for runners. We had heard horror sorties of the lines for the metro and opted to get the ferry to North Shield and the metro from there back to our accomodation. We waited a total of 15 minutes for our ferry and there was no line for the metro from North Shields.
The finishers top was lovely, the medal is great but not the most unique. I would expect such an iconic race to have a more unique medal and one different from the Great Birmingham 10k that the same company organises.
Overall it was a fun experience. It is incredibly expensive and I'm not convinced it should be. Would I do it again, probably. It was a fun experience and I'd like to give it a go again and hopefully see the Red Arrows next time!