Well, readers - I did not defer. I ran the Great North Run yesterday, in glorious sunshine, and in a personal best of 2 hours 7 minutes. It may not have been as fast as I'd planned, but it will do for now, considering I'd been convinced I'd have to pull out less than a week ago.
And I'm so glad I decided not to defer - it was an amazing experience, not about doing a fast time at all but about just enjoying the day. The atmosphere is fantastic, with seemingly the whole of Newcastle, Gateshead and South Shields out to cheer you on. They don't just provide vocal support but also give you ice pops, orange segments, baby wipes and chocolate digestives along the way, just to make sure you never flag. It seems like every kid in the region is out on the street, waiting to give you a high/low five or an 'oggy oggy oggy'. Definitely a big thanks to the locals - they really make the race something special.
For people whose only experience of the North East is watching the Great North Run on TV, I would just like to point out that the weather is not usually like this but manages to be freakishly fine every year for the race. And for those of us whose only previous experience of South Shields coast is sitting in the car, in the car park looking out at the sea with our coats on, as it's too cold to get out, then yesterday's conditions were even more freakish!
I'm pretty much over my cold now and feeling good, so happy to have gone through the experience of yesterday. As well as being on a post-race high, I am now really looking forward to doing the New York Marathon. I can now imagine what that big race atmosphere is like and have some experience of running in a very big field! Now I've got the half marathon under my belt, I'm ready to get back into training properly and Operation 5 Boroughs begins this week!
LON
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