The Blaydon Races is such a great and unique event on the racing calendar.
If you’re from the North East of England, the song is something you grew up hearing and also, one you know off by heart.
Entries open around February and it’s a random ballot entry, so it’s not guaranteed to get in. It spans over two days, day one is for club members and day two is open to the public.
It’s a 5.7 mile flat and fast course, starting just outside of Newcastle City Centre, running by venues such as the Life Center, the Metro Radio Arena and entering a long stint on the famous Scotswood Road, over Blaydon Bridge and then finishing at Shibdon Playing Fields on Shibdon Road.
It may sound like an odd distance to run, but it does fly by and it’s so well supported. If you’ve run the Great North Run the crowds at the start is very similar!
It caters for around 4800 runners, so it does get a little bottlenecked at the start, so if you want a fast time, my advice would be to get as close to the front as possible. Sometimes the race can be delayed at the start, out of the four times I’ve competed in it, this has happened twice, which when it involves closing main roads, it’s easy to understand why.
The goodybag is brilliant as well. You get your finisher’s shirt, a sandwich (ham & peas pudding) crisps, water and finally, a traditional and locally brewed beer!
My tips for this would be: