North Tyneside 10K, 5th April 2026
Thankfully the worst of Storm David was over, and it was a bright, though still windy morning for the North Tyneside 10K, which returned to its traditional Easter Sunday date after last year’s enforced move to September.
Thankfully, it was surprisingly warm as we gathered for the pre-race photoshoot, sheltered from the wind by the buildings of The Parks Sports Centre, though we were all trying to figure out what effect the wind would have on the run. Then we made the short walk around the corner to get ready to run down the hill to the Fish Quay, along the river to Tynemouth and then up the coast to St Mary’s Lighthouse.
Still on the road to fitness, this was going to be the furthest that I had run since October, so my own target was to stay with Gill and see if we could pace each other to dip under the hour. There was little evidence of the wind for the first couple of kilometres, though, if anything, it would have been behind us, but we knew that we would be more exposed after the climb up to Tynemouth Priory. As we wound our way along the coast, there were a few short stretches of running into the wind, but it was mainly a cross-wind, coming off the land.
We could see Hazel Juggins a bit ahead of us and I could tell that we were gradually catching her, which we finally did just after the Spanish City. Finally we turned towards the island with the wind now blowing us to the finish line, the one hour target achieved.
After a brief chat with other finishers, we started to head back up to find a spot to lookout for any other Claremont finishers. However it was very cold, and just as we gave a cheer to Susan Hillman (this is her favourite race!), the hailstones started, so we set off for home. The hail was coming at us horizontally and battering our arms and faces, as we tried to use the plastic goodie bags as protection. By the time we reached the pitch and putt course, we were cold, wet and sore and worrying about hypothermia setting in as we walked/jogged home! Thankfully, we don’t live too far away, though it still took two cups of tea and a hot cross bun before I felt human again!
This is a great race – but no storms next year, please.
PS When putting on our numbers, 1063 and 1064, before the race, Gill commented that if we had been just a little slower in registering, she might have got 1066 and that would have been a great number for a History teacher. Then the results came in and, even though we tried to cross the start and finish together and had been given the same time, they had me finishing one place ahead of her … in position 1066.
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 33 | Luke O’Neill | 37:38 |
| 279 | Lena Lou | 45:54 |
| 403 | David Lydall | 47:55 |
| 471 | Tara Hipwood | 49:07 |
| 480 | Lynne Cornell | 49:12 (1st V60) |
| 561 | Anna Round | 50:25 (3rd V55) |
| 843 | Ryan Thompson | 54:49 |
| 1024 | Luke Woodend | 57:31 |
| 1066 | Tom Tinsley | 58:17 |
| 1067 | Gill Milne | 58:17 |
| 1087 | Hazel Juggins | 58:30 |
| 1093 | Aaron Mansell | 58:36 |
| 1268 | Janet Palmer | 61:05 (2nd V70) |
| 1325 | Chris Carr | 62:08 |
| 1341 | Ailsa Ralph | 62:43 |
| 1424 | Susan Hillman | 63:58 |
| 1858 | Summer Lackenby | 87:43 |
