Blyth Sands, 7th December 2025
The 65th edition of this unique race took place on Blyth Beach this morning. While no subsequent reports will ever do better justice to the experience than this effort, the runners who lined up amongst the puddles left by the departing tide will never have it as easy as this.
A 5 mile-ish run that combines a short out-and-back from alongside the Mermaid Car Park (ubiquitous in the north-east running calendar) towards the Port of Blyth, with a longer one that takes you back south down to Seaton Sluice, before returning from whence you came. The start is handicapped, with the more… experienced women starting on the first whistle, followed by groups every minute working down the age categories, the senior (under-40) men leaving last, 15 minutes later.
The entire endeavour takes place on the beach, with runners given the option of finding whichever racing line feels optimal at the time. At its most challenging, you’ll find yourself battling with incoming waves, gale force winds, and having to navigate over/under/round the large wooden groynes, barriers that extend down the beach towards the sea.
As it transpired, none of that was necessary on this occasion, with brilliant sunshine, the wind barely above a whisper and the tide well in retreat. All we had to deal with was the mildest of headwinds on the southward run, and the standard wet feet as we occasionally splashed through ankle-deep rivulets, easily circumventing the groynes, nee climbing involved!
To some stalwarts of the event, this was a bit of a disappointment, with challenging conditions and scrambling over obstacles very much part of the experience. It was my third time tackling Blyth Sands, and after 6 weeks of next-to-no running after another frustrating injury, I was personally glad of an easier ride. Lining up with Dave Nolan at the back of the pack, we mused that due to our January birthday’s, next year would be our final opportunity to start as youthful seniors, 2027 heralding our ‘promotion’ to the over-40’s.
I started off at what I felt was a relatively conservative pace, for the kilometre north to the turning point, but quickly found my energy sapping as I headed back down the beach into the slight breeze, lack of fitness telling. Plugging away, splashing through the puddles, I simultaneously tried to focus on and ignore the snaking trail of runners disappearing into the sunny horizon, the straight nature of the route meaning the next checkpoint is always in sight, but doesn’t get closer as quickly as you want it to. Marshals cheerfully shouted encouragement as we passed, rounding the groynes at their furthest edges, where the water was generally at its deepest, though still little to write home about. Early on I heard my name, glancing right to see a camera-wielding Tom.
Passing runners of various speeds, I could see various Claremonters coming back in the opposite direction, and dearly wished I was one of them already! Eventually rounding the flag at Seaton Sluice, it was a pleasantly calm run back to the finish, with both sun and wind at our backs. I’m not sure if it was someone from my starting pack, or a runner I had previously overtaken, but I was aware of a man doggedly sticking on my heels for the final 5 minutes or so, signalled by the shadow of his head and shoulders bobbing around in the corner of my vision, so I made sure I put on a steady spurt as the finish line neared (if I’ve got little else, I do a decent sprint finish!)
Feeling absolutely knackered, but glad to have run the whole thing without any notable painful flare-ups, I joined the rest of the Claremont crew in repairing to the Dave Stephens Centre for the customary mince pie, coffee, biscuits, and shot of sherry for those so inclined! Not bad for £8 (used to be £7, that’s inflation for you). No stranger to winning category prizes at this event (and many others), Julie Cross was of course first in hers, finishing impressively in the top 20 overall.
| Position | Runner | Race Time | Actual Time |
| 18 | Julie Cross (1st VW60) | 29:32 | 41:32 |
| 45 | David Lydall | 33:01 | 40:01 |
| 60 | Nicki O’Brien | 34:49 | 41:49 |
| 74 | Cate Walker | 36:01 | 43:01 |
| 90 | Eddie Smith | 37:33 | 44:33 |
| 94 | Lucy Ward | 37:44 | 45:44 |
| 101 | Laurie Johnson | 38:26 | 38:26 |
| 110 | Rose Hawkswood | 39:24 | 45:24 |
| 122 | Liz Denyer | 41:32 | 49:32 |
| 135 | Jenny Roberts | 43:46 | 47:46 |
| 158 | Ken McCormick | 51:32 | 62:32 |
