The 40th running of the Great North Run took place on 12th September 2021, after a year’s absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The race was run on a revised course, for one year only, as an out and back route, crossing the Tyne Bridge twice and passing through the city centre before finishing next to the Town Moor.
As usual, many Striders took part in the race. Their results can be found at the bottom of this report. Here are some Striders’ recollections of the race.
Sarah Fawcett writes…
I think this was my tenth GNR and I smiled the whole way round, despite the entire route being uphill!
It was wonderful that the event happened after all of the uncertainty of recent months and I thought that the organisation was excellent. Everything seemed to work really smoothly.
I, like many, will be happy to go back to South Shields next year but the advantages of yesterday’s route was that I spent most of the time looking across the carriageway to spot Striders running in the opposite direction. Also the doubling back route meant that the bands and charity cheering squads were condensed into half the normal geography and therefore were an ever present atmosphere booster.
The pizza and lager at the end were very enjoyable too.
This from George Nicholson…
For me now there is little point in entering races anymore as age, health and injuries have slowed me up so much that even the proverbial tortoise would get to the finish line before me. The one exception of course is the Great North Run. Having done it 39 times before, not to enter is unthinkable. Just getting to the finish is my only priority, and I try not to worry about my ‘run/walk time’ . Pride obviously comes into it a bit, and I did hope to get a sub 3hour. This at least I did mange by 1 second!
The last 200m was nerve racking as I could see the clock ticking down. It was a bit distressing to be overtaken by 2 daffodils at that point, and very embarrassing as the moment was captured on BBC1 and broadcast round 127 Countries. Thank you Malcolm for also making it known on social media.
My only other concern was, would I remember to turn back around at White Mare Pool or would I turn left as usual and head off along the A194 to South Shields?
Good to see several Striders’ vests along the way, and brief shout-outs to Alan Smith and Jonathan Hamill. It was also great to exchange a few words with several ex-Striders.
Apart from the run itself, the other exciting thing for me with the GNR weekend is the annual gathering with other Ever Presents at the Sage in Gateshead on the Saturday afternoon. We always meet up for photos, compare ailments and reasons why we run slower. Naturally there is also cake to eat. For the first time Brendan Foster came along to join us and he was in quite a jovial mood.
Only sad bit for my weekend was that ‘Ever Present’ Barrie Evans was not able to make the start line, thus I am now ‘last man standing’ for Striders.
Lastly I would like to thank everybody who sent me some lovely messages and words of support.
… and Marc Watson
I spoke to Allan Seheult about racing and tactics and best ways to run on a number of occasions. One of the best bits of advice he left with me was negative splits. Well Allan, my GNR today is dedicated to you. Ran a disciplined first half which allowed me to push on second half and absolutely smash my GNR PB. (Along with smashing my first half of the run with my second. 3 sub 9 minute miles in the second half too.) As soon as I looked at this chart I thought of Allan and what he gave to me as a runner. Miss his coaching dearly and so glad he left this with me.
Results
| Name | Club | Pos | Finish Time | Category Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marc Scott | Richmond & Zetland Harriers | 1 | 01:01:22 | 1 |
| Hellen Obiri | Kenya | 1 | 01:07:42 | 1 |
| Stephen Jackson | Sunderland Harriers & AC (Elvet Striders 2nd Claim) | 26 | 01:08:47 | 5 |
| Graeme Watt | Elvet Striders | 82 | 01:15:52 | 9 |
| Georgie Hebdon | Elvet Striders | 92 | 01:16:36 | 62 |
| Michael Littlewood | Elvet Striders | 132 | 01:18:23 | 5 |
| Allan Renwick | Elvet Striders | 259 | 01:22:38 | 5 |
| Emma Thompson | Elvet Striders | 367 | 01:24:50 | 4 |
| David Cowell | Elvet Striders | 481 | 01:26:44 | 74 |
| Bryan Potts | Elvet Striders | 493 | 01:27:00 | 115 |
| Mark Griffiths | Elvet Striders | 500 | 01:27:06 | 51 |
| Matthew Archer | Elvet Striders | 673 | 01:29:06 | 102 |
| Anna Basu | Elvet Striders | 841 | 01:30:43 | 8 |
| Corrine Whaling | Elvet Striders | 1066 | 01:32:43 | 12 |
| Kyle Sunley | Elvet Striders | 1178 | 01:33:36 | 417 |
| Paul Swinburne | Elvet Striders | 1896 | 01:38:03 | 223 |
| Karen Byng | Elvet Striders | 2256 | 01:39:37 | 14 |
| John Hugill | Elvet Striders | 2585 | 01:41:12 | 467 |
| Louise Morton | Elvet Striders | 2933 | 01:42:32 | 56 |
| Nina Bojadzic | Elvet Striders | 3019 | 01:42:52 | 58 |
| Andrew Davies | Elvet Striders | 3879 | 01:45:40 | 462 |
| Simon Graham | Elvet Striders | 4860 | 01:48:35 | 710 |
| Kelly Guy | Elvet Striders | 5745 | 01:50:39 | 148 |
| Mark Foster | Elvet Striders | 5896 | 01:51:04 | 819 |
| Anna Grubert | Elvet Striders | 6442 | 01:52:25 | 187 |
| Callum Askew | Elvet Striders | 6844 | 01:53:22 | 1860 |
| Paul West | Elvet Striders | 6858 | 01:53:25 | 937 |
| Joanne Robertson | Elvet Striders | 6870 | 01:53:26 | 198 |
| Theresa Rugman-Jones | Elvet Striders | 7680 | 01:55:12 | 128 |
| Lisa Sample | Elvet Striders | 8208 | 01:56:24 | 281 |
| Jo Ann Long | Elvet Striders | 8803 | 01:57:40 | 621 |
| Calista Ibbitson | Elvet Striders | 9461 | 01:58:58 | 698 |
| Heather Raistrick | Elvet Striders | 9879 | 01:59:48 | 118 |
| Chris Edwards | Elvet Striders | 9895 | 01:59:50 | 1258 |
| Deborah Jones | Elvet Striders | 10961 | 02:02:22 | 233 |
| Kirsty Nelson | Elvet Striders | 11182 | 02:02:54 | 351 |
| Alan Scott | Elvet Striders | 11680 | 02:04:09 | 559 |
| Jane Dowsett | Elvet Striders | 11907 | 02:04:41 | 278 |
| Mark Herkes | Elvet Striders | 12906 | 02:07:09 | 2927 |
| Steph Greenwell | Elvet Striders | 12978 | 02:07:24 | 1135 |
| Marc Watson | Elvet Striders | 13326 | 02:08:11 | 1286 |
| Sarah Fawcett | Elvet Striders | 13579 | 02:08:47 | 214 |
| Jonathan Hamill | Elvet Striders | 13856 | 02:09:27 | 1135 |
| Laura Campbell | Elvet Striders | 15008 | 02:12:13 | 710 |
| Mark Kearney | Elvet Striders | 15114 | 02:12:29 | 1721 |
| Kirsten Fenwick | Elvet Striders | 15791 | 02:14:01 | 784 |
| Bob Gratton | Elvet Striders | 15854 | 02:14:10 | 336 |
| Aileen Scott | Elvet Striders | 17054 | 02:17:02 | 574 |
| Rachel Coy | Elvet Striders | 17402 | 02:17:59 | 900 |
| Jane Ives | Elvet Striders | 17550 | 02:18:19 | 607 |
| Lisa Lumsdon | Elvet Striders | 17640 | 02:18:32 | 2934 |
| Angela Williams | Elvet Striders | 18685 | 02:21:20 | 682 |
| Angela Dixon | Elvet Striders | 18907 | 02:21:54 | 934 |
| James Nicholson | Elvet Striders | 19000 | 02:22:15 | 50 |
| Sophie Dennis | Elvet Striders | 19449 | 02:23:32 | 1050 |
| Adam Bent | Elvet Striders | 20382 | 02:26:12 | 216 |
| Andrew Thurston | Elvet Striders | 20619 | 02:26:52 | 448 |
| Allan Nichols | Elvet Striders | 22192 | 02:31:43 | 1487 |
| Alan Smith | Elvet Striders | 23989 | 02:38:30 | 20 |
| Kayleigh Hind | Elvet Striders | 24644 | 02:41:12 | 3006 |
| Rachel Toth | Elvet Striders | 26466 | 02:50:39 | 1619 |
| Margaret Thompson | Elvet Striders | 26608 | 02:51:26 | 23 |
| Alison Smith | Elvet Striders | 26950 | 02:53:25 | 1658 |
| Angela Cowell | Elvet Striders | 27366 | 02:56:14 | 2009 |
| George Nicholson | Elvet Striders | 27880 | 02:59:59 | 115 |