Last week saw the postponment, due to Covid pandemic, of my last pre- entered race for this year and it's looking increasingly likely that there may not be any races at all this year or at least until the very backend of the year at the earliest.
The race in question is the Great North Run and this year was due to be the 40th running of the event with around 60,000 entrants. A massive increase on the 12,000 that took part in the first event back in 1981, of which I was one.
I have detailed elsewhere in this blog how it was because of the very first GNR that I started running. So I will not go over old ground again. But I am looking forward to next years event.
Taking up my theme of picking a random date and looking back at which races I have ran on that date in the past; if we take today, the 2nd July then in:
1986 - I ran the 1500m at the Tyneside Track League finishing 1st in 4.09. In those days the track league was so popular that there were a number of races held over each distance. This race was the 'H' race. I also. ran this race just 3 days after finishing 5th in the Derwentside 10 mile road race (55.09). Blaydon Harriers taking first team.
1988 - Division 3 League match at Lightfoot Stadium, Newcastle. Finishing 6th in the 5000m (15.16). The race was won by C Walker of Bingly Harriers with Mandales Kevin Brown 2nd.
1994 - Northern League Division 5 match at Middlesbrough where I finished 2nd in the 5000m in 15.34.5 behind John Ranson of Chester le Street (15.12). I also ran a leg of the 4 X 100 - not very successfully!
2003 - World Masters Athletics Championships, Puerto Rico where I ran in the 8km cross country finishing 8th (29.07) in the M45 catogory. I remember the race starting at 6am to avoid the heat of the day!
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