The Magic and mystery of the Great North Run

By Mark Turnbull

The Great North Run. It started in 1999 I applied to do the Great North Run. I filled in the form and sent it off then in June that year I got a letter back to say that I had been accepted to take part in the great north run. I had been training since March and was almost ready for it, the big day. Then three months later the big day came, I left the house at 7:15 am on the morning of the run. I got the metro from the town centre in South Shields to Newcastle. It was busy, lots of people travelling to Newcastle to take part in the run. I got to Newcastle, took the short walk from the metro station to the start of the run.

It felt good, all those people there for the same reason that I was: to take part in the biggest run in the world. Time went on then the race started, the gun went bang and I started running, out of Newcastle I went, on my way. I felt nervous but also happy that I had taken part in this big event. I kept on running and running and running and being around all those people helped me to get to the finish line in south shields, I ran down the Coast Road, took off like a bullet, did not consider that I had a lot of pain in my left foot. Just kept on going then I crossed the finish line, I put my arms up in the air; I said ‘I have done it’. I felt special that I had achieved something I wanted to do since I was a child. What else made me special was that I had done it, raised lots of money for charity, £2000 for cancer research and yes I would consider doing it again, and I did in 2003.

One of the best days in my life, the memory of it brings back a smile on my face. A race that will always be in my mind and my heart for the rest of my life. Go on, as the song says, keep on running, and I did, I done it, the Great North Run is the most fascinating run of all time and I took part in it, great.