Great North Run, 10th September 2023

The most commonly uttered phrase at this years Great North Run, by some distance: “It’s too hot”. With the temperature creeping into the low 20’s by the time the gun went at 11:00, and the early morning fog long dispersed, it was not a day for heroics.

A few Claremonters congregated outside the storied North Terrace Pub on Claremont Road, for a couple of photos, and yes, to mutter ominously about the sweltering conditions. Milling about in the pens for half an hour or so before the start, we were treated to a nice filmed piece documenting the history of Sir Mo Farah’s Great North Run successes, followed by a message of encouragement from the great man himself. Running competitively for the final time, Sir Mo finished in 4th place, no mean feat for the now 40 year old legend. The previous 6 victories will probably linger longer in his memory.

Slightly further down the field could be found a larger number of Claremont Road Runners, doing their best to heed Sir Mo’s words and enjoy. For my part it started ok, I thought I managed the first couple of miles quite well, not getting swept along too fast at the start (my splits after however, suggest I could’ve stood to slow down a bit).

Once across the Tyne Bridge, with spectator support as loud and impressive as ever, and heading towards Gateshead Stadium, doubt started to creep in about how well this might go. Around the 5km mark, progress started to feel more laboured. Speaking to others after, it seems many started to struggle with the heat at this point. Water stations were made use of much more frequently, some of it getting poured directly over my head, with the carwash-style showers later on proving particularly welcome.

I managed to avoid a stitch until slightly later this year, and the subsequent slow to a walk around 9 miles was only for one minute rather than three. After that, there was a sense of déjà vu, with the pace dropping considerably, the goal readjusted to just making it to the finish. Despite this, I somehow ended up taking 14 seconds off my PB, though I didn’t feel particularly jubilant about it, due to the unevenness of my race.

There were similar tales from other Claremonters, many finding they had to walk or even stop for periods in order to cope with the conditions (or take on beer…), with some witnessing more than one collapsed runner receiving medical assistance. Some runners got a bit of relief from cloud cover later on, and indeed there were spells of torrential rain and lightning as we peered out from the safety of The Town Wall pub back in Newcastle.

On a day that proved so taxing for the competitors, special mention must go to Terry Welsh. At a sprightly 71 years old, Terry maintained his streak of having entered every Great North Run (now standing at 42), and completed the course in a fantastic time wearing his Team COCO vest.

The team of Claremont volunteers did their usual sterling job from their position near the start, as well as reassuring frantic runners who were running late due to metro issues. There were further problems post-race, with South Shields metro station having to close temporarily due to flash-flooding, inconveniencing hundreds of tired runners.

Thanks to the Claremont supporters spotted along the route, it was nice to see and hear from familiar faces as we toiled under the merciless sun.

PositionRunnerTime
495Mark Anderson1:26:36
939Roberto Marzo1:31:23
1130Laurie Johnson1:33:10
1326Sarah Kerr1:34:42
1331Simon Lowe1:34:43
2273Paul Robinson1:40:06
2521Mungai Wairia1:41:18
4743Jon Hinchmore1:48:47
5704Aaron Mansell1:51:18
5876David Devennie1:51:43
6653Dean O’Brien1:53:40
6703Kat Truong1:53:48
7920Arthur Liu1:56:18
8346Lynne Cornell1:57:13
8659Allie Wilson Craw1:57:51
8704Brian Hegarty1:57:55
9933Liz Denyer2:00:00
10253Clare McKitterick2:00:40
13356Michael Teasdale2:06:30
14910Tara Hipwood2:09:14
15021Rachel Hurdman2:09:24
20962Nina Jensen (2hr 20 pacer)2:19:23
21373Alex Anslow2:20:02
14248Luke Woodend2:21:36
23439Alan Dunning2:23:32
36735Charlotte Johnston2:54:52
38037Sam Dunn2:59:54
40555Elizabeth O’Mahony3:15:16
43345Terry Welsh4:12:51

Thanks to Alex, Mungai and Lena for most of the photos

Laurie Johnson -
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