… and coming in last is my race report (I’m a few days late with this one) while I’ve been covering for Richard Houghton. I’m sure he’ll be much more timely in getting these done than I’ve been.
It’s been a quiet week for races once again, mainly due to everyone preparing for Sunday – or should I say Great North Runday!
The Half Geordieman – Half Ironman, 4th September 2022
I’m not sure what the other half will be, but this looks like a nice event based at Druridge Bay.
Mark Turnbull was the only Elswick competitor, this is what he had to say about it.
The Geordieman is a new triathlon event organised by the excellent Wild Deer guys, based at Druridge Bay country park. They put on a full iron distance event, and a half, which I did as a warm up for Kona in a few weeks. The course was great: nice warm lake, one lap swim, cycle up to Seahouses and back followed by a 2 lap run round the park and beach road. I had a PB swim 33 mins, steady bike for the wet and slippy conditions, 2hrs 37 mins and a decent half marathon after all that in 1:26, 4:41 total time good enough for 13th overall but only 3rd V50 -there’s some fast old boys about!
Mark Turnbull
The Big Half – 4th September 2022
This race used to be held in the early part of the year and was beset by problems caused by inclement weather. With the second running in late summer it’s becoming more popular, especially for those who didn’t get a place in the GNR (and even some who use it as a training run).
The route is often described as the “boring half of the London Marathon”, and while that may be valid, it’s still a nice race. The start is just round the corner from Tower Bridge, heads east through the Limehouse Tunnel past Billingsgate Market (you can even smell the fish), then loop back through Canary Wharf and all those famous bank HQs. Next it’s through Wapping to cross Tower Bridge, which is a great sight when you get there just after the half way mark. Now on the south side of the Thames the race follows the line of the river through Rotherhithe before passing Surrey Quays. Then on to Greenwich to cross the finish line right next to the picturesque Victorian tea clipper the Cutty Sark.
We had two entrants this year; despite being a seasoned and experienced runner, Luke Hilliard certainly learnt some valuable lessons on this one.
If it had been a football match it would have been a fluky 1-0 win with the opposition missing a penalty and scraping a deflected winner. My pre race prep was appalling and shows the importance of drinking and eating correctly before an event. As a result by 14k I was dizzy and faint, but thankfully I was given water by one of the relay teams. Amazingly, I finished in 1:15:37, only five seconds off my pb. So despite a poor run I’m pleased to have churned out a decent result!
Luke Hilliard
Luke came in 147th overall from a field of 16,662. It was a family affair for the Hilliards with his brother and sister also competing, although neither in an Elswick vest.
The second Elswick runner on the day was me, Simon Allen. This was my first half marathon race since November 2019, at the Conwy Half Marathon, where I set my previous PB. I had been planning on doing The Big Half last year, but had to pull out due to injury.
That injury, and others that followed really hampered my recovery and training, but I was very pleased with the outcome.
I had set three targets, as I always do; I’d have happy with 1:40:00, pleased with 1:35:00 and elated with 1:30:00.
On this occasion I managed 1:33:35 official time – a new HM PB – no one can ever complain about that.
1470 overall, 31st of 441 in my category.
