Ultra North, 13th July 2024
The Ultra North is part of the Great Run stable and consists of 2 races – a 55K ultra marathon and a shorter, 25K route. Five Claremont Road Runners entered this event – 3 in the shorter distance and 2 for the full ultra, and we also supplied the 5 strong team to man the 1st checkpoint and feed station for the 55K run.
I imagine that one of the main concerns when entering an ultra in July would be running a long distance in the heat – this definitely wasn’t the problem facing runners this year. With unseasonable low temperatures and torrential rain at times, I hope that the runners managed to change into warm, dry clothes and get a hot drink at the end before hypothermia set in! There certainly wasn’t as much demand for water at our feed station as in previous years!
This year the races started and finished at the Quayside, running along the River Tyne before going up and down the Derwent Valley to return along the south bank of the Tyne. While the 25K route crossed the river over the Scotswood Bridge, the 55K runners carried onto Wylam and also added an extra loop through Rowlands Gill and Chopwell Wood.
Although part of the checkpoint team, I was asked to ensure that the runners left the Wylam checkpoint and got back on course, over the bridge and through the station car park to reach the riverside trail. So I only saw our 55K runners, Mark Anderson and Jamie Harding. The staggered start meant that although Mark was faster, he and Jamie went by in quick succession. Both looked strong, if a tad damp (I was certainly glad that I had a big umbrella!), but still had a very long way to go over paths that must have been getting very wet and slippy.
In the 25K run, there was a strong performance from Lucy Ward, while Julija Simpson and Nina Jentl ran together at a slightly more sedate pace.
Just getting around that course in those conditions is an excellent achievement – so well done to all!
| 55K | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 14 | Mark Anderson | 5:14:51 |
| 120 | Jamie Harding | 6:56:16 |
| 25K | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 98 | Lucy Ward | 2:40:10 |
| 210 | Julija Simpson | 3:22:26 |
| 212 | Nina Jentl | 3:22:27 |
