Run 101

That traditional North Tyneside 10K run came about again on Easter Sunday. It's only a tradition for me, hard to say no every year I do it. Perhaps when I'm 80 years old I'll stop doing it. There were people close to that age doing it this year, I felt good when I passed them. My number was 101. I should've took note of that when I accidentally smashed my knee-cap against the door frame the day before and had that 'grown-man-wanting-to-cry-but-your girlfriend-is-watching-feeling'.

It makes me laugh every year, hearing all the exciting chatter during the first mile. Then; the heavy panting; the grimaces; the silence. The runners who insist on saying, another 5 mile to go after the first mile. The runners who say they're not looking forward to that hill. And the runners who go through their times for all their running achievements and their hopes to finish the Great North Run under 20 minutes.

That said, I'll probably still be there next year. My time was an improvement on last year at 56 mins 30 secs.

Egg and spoon without the egg or spoon

The North Tyneside 10K run I do every year turned out to be a hot and sunny one on Easter Sunday. My time was slower than last year by a minute or so (57m 40s) but that didn't matter as you never get sick of such great scenery. It's not just that scenery to look at though as this year I saw a man from a stag party wearing a green mankini coming out the sea. Also, sitting watching the race on a park bench, a row of hungover lads, with a huge cuddly toy in the middle. Only in the North East...

The girlfriend's family were at the end to see me 'race' to the finish line so I had to make sure I looked good. As always, there are some photos to go towards proving I do the race every year.

Run Fat Boys Run...

Ah, the smell of Ralgex. The costumes that pass you. The oggy chant. The 10 mile ache. The man on top of the bus stop with his hose. The outrageous rock band playing on a roundabout. The hoards and hoards of supporting people. The strange, compelling and captivating desire. That's the desire to complete the Great North Run 2010. It's pretty tough for an old man like me whose legs now feel like Michelle Mcmanus has sat on each one and lifted her own chubby legs off the ground. You can't help not enjoy it though despite the anguished pain (the run that is not the rolly-polly-on-top-of-legs-lady). I managed a leisurely time of 2:20 this year in the 30th run. Myself and my brother Lee raised money for Cancer Research, his time was 1:59, he was always the better runner, I got the looks though. So far we've raised £558.

Along the way I shook hands with our local lad, Ant from 'Ant & Dec', passed a man carrying a fridge on his back, a man running in cowboy boots, a fireman with an oxygen tank, a Flintstones car, running bananas and many other crazy runners. Oh and a few fellas running in Speedos. Why can't it be women doing this? That way I might've knocked 10 minutes off my time.

We were lucky to have VIP passes so we got to mix with the 'stars' afterwards. David James, Ray Stubbs, Scott Mills, Molly and Graham from Corras and more. They all insisted on talking to me of course but I had no time for them as I had a pint and a homemade cottage pie to get down my neck. It was great to see the girlfriend at the end of the race too. She came running over to me, bless her. That was her run...(2011). X

If you live in the North East, you need to run this race. It's not really about the race, it's just a one-off, emotional and uplifting experience. Your legs will finally recover but your memory of the run and all its surroundings will last forever...

6.2 miles of fun

I cannot believe that it's a year since doing the 10K North Tyneside coastal run. It was full-on sunshine last year. This year, we had sunshine again, and no wind apart from that which came from a heavy night out the day before. It's scenic all the way and once you turn the corner to see St. Mary's Lighthouse it doesn't seem too far until the finish. I managed 56 minutes this time, a minute ahead of last year. That tells me I'm getting better or my watch is feeling as old as I did after a couple of mile. It was hard going even though I do that sort of distance every week! Seeing the girlfriend's smiling face and the thought of a whopping great Easter egg makes it all worthwhile though.

That's me with the halo in the photo behind a young Rob Brydon.

Forget wheelchair races, what about pushchairs?

It was cold, a mud bath, regular cow pats, massive puddles and lots of wobbling bums. No it wasn't a night out in Sunderland or a Latvian lap dancing club, I was doing the 10K Town Moor run in Newcastle. It was enjoyable although you had to watch your footing. A fella with his kid in a pushchair passed me early on, apparently he didn't have a babysitter - classic, only in the North East! I ran past him later. So there's events for walks, runs, cycle races, dog walks etc. It's only a matter of time before there's a pushchair race and the prize is a Greggs sausage roll (the Greggs dummy) for the kid. Even a blind person passed me along with his guide, though he didn't see me giving him the V's. Amazing. Anyway, I managed to do it in 53m 06s which is good for me and my old legs. This rather rigid looking photo was taken before the race of course, hence the lack of mud and the beautiful smile.

Twas on the 9th June...

I've tried for a few years to do the famous Geordie 10K Blaydon Race and this year I was successful and managed to run it on Tuesday night just short of the winner, Ian Hudspith from Morpeth Harriers (27m 44s - woooh, must've needed the toilet). A good atmosphere and I was surprised to see there were lots of people supporting it all the way with bands and singers right til the finish. You could say all the lads and lasses there all had smiling faces (apart from those who couldn't cross the road to get to the Boyzone concert, probably for the best). I didn't join in with the famous song of course as I was out of breath and it looks embarrassing when you don't know ALL the words and I didn't have enough energy to COUGH at the point where I didn't know the words. Despite this I finished in 54m 30s and collected a t-shirt, a bottle of brooooon ale, a ham and pease pudding stottie and a congratulations kiss from my special girl: all consumed in that order, the order of importance!

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Legs n Eggs

Inbetween a few beers, a Japanese meal and an easter egg, I completed the Easter Sunday North Tyneside 10K run. A great day, glorious warm sunshine and the scenic coastal route for 2000 people. I managed to do it in 57 minutes, nowhere near the winner who did it in 31. This photo taken by my girlfriend demonstrates my ability to lift my leg at a perfect right angle.

Thong snapped

Finally got a photo of the thong man who insists on running back and forwards along the beach. He must be running away from his red underpants blowing in the wind.

Ironing is for real men

Completing the Iron Man Triathlon in Lanzarote was an amazing achievement..........but not for me. It was hard enough watching it in the sun but imagine the competitors having to endure a 2.4 mile swim in the sea, 112 mile bike ride and a 26 mile marathon. Not for wimps, they started at 7AM and were still coming in at midnight as we watched from a restaurant on The Strip. The photo is of the winner Bert Jammaer from Belgium who did it in 8hrs 59.

Maybe he had crabs

While I was running along the beach, I saw an old man running as well, only he was dressed in a thong. Unfortunatley I didn't have my phone with me to take a photo. Here's a photo of the amazing beach I sometimes run along though. Who needs to be on holiday?

Running cold

Easter Sunday last year was glorious sunshine as I completed a 10K run along the coast. This time, it was snowing, 2 degrees and a cutting wind. Still managed to complete it and thoroughly enjoyed it. A special person was there to greet me at the end, it made me run faster.