Northumberland Coastal Run, 17th September 2023

There was a different feel to this year’s Northumberland Coastal Run, the change of date from July to September meant that it felt a lot less like the usual “North East runners annual day out at the seaside”. The date had been changed to allow the race to return to using the traditional start with the first 3K or so being across beautiful Beadnell Bay along the beach (wet feet guaranteed!). This followed last year’s need to re-route (and therefore lengthen) the run due to the nesting birds at Long Nanny, where, in common with the Farne Islands and other areas of Northumberland, avian influenza has devastated the sea bird population. As it was, we were asked to keep as close as we could to the shoreline in order to minimise the disturbance to the birds (arctic and little terns).

The change in date had also led to there being far fewer entries than usual, with hundreds of places still available for a race that normally sells out in a couple of hours. There are probably numerous reasons for this, but the race being a week after the Great North Run can’t have helped. In the end, just 10 Claremonters out of the 13 who had entered, made it to the start line.

Despite the smaller field, there was still a buzz as runners gathered for the start with the usual mix of anticipation and trepidation. For myself, there is always the mix of knowing that I am about to start a beautiful run along my favourite stretch of coastline and the feeling of not having trained enough for the gruelling test of a long, multi-terrain run.

Luckily the recent rain abated and it was good weather for running – dry, cool with a gentle breeze off the sea. I would actually like to see the start as a spectator one day – it must be quite a sight to see hundreds of runners set off at a dash, quickly spreading out as they splash through the pools of water on the beach, leaving Beadnell harbour behind them as they head towards the distant Dunstanburgh Castle.

I always find it difficult to get the pace right at the start of a race as I tend to get swept along by faster runners and adrenalin, so I kept telling myself “this is fast enough, don’t overdo it, remember last year (when I was absolutely exhausted at the end!)”. I felt OK as we climbed off the beach and made our way onto the first section on the road and a downhill stretch to Low Newton and the second beach on the run. I love this beach and, still feeling quite fresh, I tried to enjoy the views whilst maintaining a steady pace, aware that tougher tests lay ahead.

Next comes what is, in many ways, the most tricky part of the run with a climb off the beach followed by a stretch on the rocky, narrow, undulating path around the castle ruins before crossing the grassy path to Craster. Considering how much rain we have had, I was surprised, and very pleased, to find that the paths were fairly dry and easy to run on.

The first drinks station is just as you leave the village at about the halfway point. Although welcome, the cooler weather meant that a few sips from the cup were all that I needed – unlike last year when I think most runners were already dehydrated by this point! So there was at least one benefit of the change of date!

We then followed the coastal path all the way to Boulmer, marshals and signs preventing you from taking a shortcut on the road as you could do in years gone by! The steep climb up from Sugar Sands is always a test, and I could my legs by the time I reached the top, but soon got back into my stride. Leaving Boulmer, there is the second stretch on road, much of which is on a slight incline. Normally I don’t like this section, as you are tired, there can be traffic on the road and I just want to get off the road and back on the beach, but it didn’t seem too bad this year. I am guessing that the cooler weather helped, or perhaps I had just paced myself better (maybe I am finally learning!).

Down the steps and onto the beach for the last time, picking a route to avoid the seaweed and rocky bits, we finally round a bend and see the finish line. There is still a bit to do and the last stretch was very wet (just in case our shoes were drying out!), but my family were there so I had to smile and try to run quickly! Overall I was very happy with my time – I had had a much better run than expected and I was delighted with my time and with retaining my age group title!

Having collected my, very bright, race t-shirt, I could then watch and cheer as other Claremonters came home. Julie Cross also won her age category, with Lynne Cornell coming 3rd. For Anneliza Andreadi this was her first half-marathon and she picked a tough one as it is actually further. The race organisers advertise it as 14 miles, most of us clock it at about 13.4 miles, but Anneliza’s GPS is showing 15.6 miles! Not sure what happened there as her route looks the same, but I think she was glad to finish and could still manage a smile at the end.

As usual, the cafes and hostelries of Alnmouth offered welcome food and drink to the finishers, but it wasn’t quite the same atmosphere in the beer garden of the Red Lion where a bit of July sunshine would have been very welcome! It is still a great place to end the day and, if you haven’t done this run before, then I would thoroughly recommend it whatever the date chosen in 2024.

Position	Runner	Time
45	Tom Tinsley (1st M65)	1:40:33
122	Julie Cross (1st F55)	1:52:34
140	David Lydall	1:55:00
167	NIcki O’Brien	1:57:40
223	Lynne Cornell (3rd F55)	2:03:52
247	Nina Jensen	2:07:19
266	Rachel Hurdman	2:10:20
338	Tara Hipwood	2:19:21
378	Mary Rack	2:24:24
458	Anneliza Andreadi	2:46:36