‘And girl, it look so pretty to me. Like it always did’

Tunnel of Love – Dire Straits

Like buses these Blog posts. You wait (snigger) months for one and loads come along at once. For this one, let me take you back further than the Blackpool Half Marathon. Back to Easter Sunday, to April 1st, the day of the Fools, to the North Tyneside 10k. 

I must declare an interest at this point. The North Tyneside 10k is my local race, it starts in my home town and ends in my current one. It’s very much a lercal race for lercal people. Outsiders are more than welcome to run it of course (and many do) but it’s one of those runs you’ll spot the bloke from No 6 at, or that lass who works on the Morrisons Deli. It’s also one of those races pissed up people sign up to on New Years Eve as April is miles away and, anyway, they’ll be running machines by then. Ahem. 

The course itself is a beaut. Starting at The Parks Leisure Centre in North Shields, it drops down on to the Fish Quay, along the bottom prom towards the mouth of the Tyne, before climbing and following the coast towards the finish at St. Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay. So pretty scenic, with the only real obstacle the potential of a sea breeze. The term ‘sea breeze’ sounds refreshing, except if it happens to be coming off the North Sea. Which it is. 

The start at The Parks is an easy few stops away on the Metro from where I live, but my mam offers me a lift and being both lazy and mollycoddled I except. It’s not the warmest, this years NT10k is earlier than other years due to an early Easter, meaning we’re only a few weeks since The Beast from the East and nowhere near the late teens tropical sun fest the North East coast usually gets in the height of summer. 

Slightly off topic here, but a lot of people when hearing I’m a Geordie always joke about us not wearing coats on nights out, even when it’s freezing cold etc. Shall I tell you why? It may be freezing cold enough outside to send your nads back up into your stomach, but inside the pubs and clubs of the North East it’s roasting like the depths of hell and it’s chocker full of bodies. Basically, we’ve evolved to withstand the cold in order to get smashed. True story. 

I get dropped a fair few blocks from the start as my mam is worried they’ll close the roads and she’ll be trapped. I want to point out that this is a short local run and not a protest in Tiananmen Square, but a lift is a lift so I refrain in the piss taking and thank her. The walk to the start of this particular run can be intimidating for any newbies. It is after all a race, and there are lots of very serious looking and very fit running-looking runners, many of whom are doing warm up jogs at the pace I’m usually flat out. 

The Parks is rammed full of cars and bodies. Running clubs huddle sporadically together, almost tribally. I like to think that they are all bad mouthing each other, frequently flicking the vs and shouting ‘Splitters’, but sadly and quite rightly this never seems to happen. Which explains why I’ve never joined one. 

The start is literally just the road outside the centre. There are no pens or pacers, so I kind of just position myself half way down ish. I see the lady from the Deli at Morrisons. Told you. Local MP Mary Glindon is the starter and it’s super Alan Partridge awkward. She starts the race with, and I quote ‘Are you ready? Are you steady? Go!’, delivered as if we’re 5 year olds at Sports Day. I don’t think Mary will be back next year. 

We’re off, and I’m in two minds about how to run this. On one hand, training has gone well and my numbers are good. On the other, Newcastle were at home yesterday so I’m feeling a slight self inflicted pub related groggyness. Past NT10k runs have seen me set off too slow and record so-so times, therefore I go for it. 

The first part of the race is busy, lots of bodies and various levels of pace scattered around. You find yourself flying past someone in front yet having some machine fly past you at the same time. The steep drop into the Fish Quay sounds idyllic for a runner but the steep incline always has me papping myself. Plus, what comes down must go up. Along the Fish Quay it’s still busy and I’m feeling good and setting a canny pace. By the time I get to the mouth of the Tyne the field has scattered a bit and I realise I’m probably much nearer the front that in previous years, but still miles from it of course. It’s a bit like me visiting Russia and saying I’m now a bit closer to Australia. 

Now to the hardest part of the course, the climb from the River to Tynemouth Priory. It’s not a long climb, but it’s an energy sapping gradient that sees a few people fall away. I don’t have any problems with it. This is not a ‘yeah, look at me bitches’ boast, I’m finding this as much a killer as everyone else. However, I’ve run up here more times than I care to remember and the muscle memory is helping me attack it. Bit of technical jargon there for you readers. 

After getting to the top, having finished cursing a 2000 year old monument and regaining your faculties, the last 4ish miles are an enjoyable breeze. This long section, from Pissing Tynemouth Priory to St. Marys Lighthouse is a route I run a lot. Tissues out, it’s where I first started my running journey a decade ago. 

I probably don’t appreciate this section as much as I should. It’s the selling point of the race and is well worth a run along, regardless of whether it’s the NT10k or just a jolly. We pass along Short Sands and Long Sands and the field really has spread since the killer hill. It’s pretty much level from here on in as well, apart from a slight climb to High Point (obviously) which isn’t that high to be honest. 

As we drop down from High Point we’re on the new, shiny rebuilt upper Prom. This heads towards the even newer, even shiner, but not open, Spanish City. Still slightly in building site form at this point, but it’ll be shining like shit off a barn door for the 2019 NT10k and I expect will be photo opportunity central for those wanting a great background to distract from your slack jawed boss eyed race face. 

Now it’s simply following the Links for 2 miles to the finish at the Lighthose. Not actually at the Lighthouse, just on the road heading into it, but it’s there as your finish marker pretty much all the way along the coast. I feel great and put my foot down. It’s a 52:53 and a PB, both for the race and a 10k. Happy days. 

Final act is picking up my race pack, and the NT10k has always been a fav. There is no medal, but you always get a nice top and running socks. I slip on this years top, a large, and it’s feeling a tad snug. Like boy band snug. A quick glance around it appears everyone is looking snug. In the days that follow I’m happy to see that lots of local runners are complaining about the tightness of the tops on various social media forums.  

Not fat. Much relieve.