Great North Run

EauRouge79

Recorded this earlier and just watched it now.
Absolutely superb stuff. Closest finishes I have ever witnessed over this kind of distance.
Not sure if I should go into who beat who just in case some of you want to watch it back. Highly recommended view though.

Apologies if there is another thread, didnt see one.

rom

sure was a great finish. Both were great finishes.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055958301&page=14

eliwallach

Did ye ever doubt tirunesh Dibaba?

rovers_runner

Kipsang is some man, must have been promised a big bonus for a win there too.

Was looking at results in comparison to the Dublin half on Sat as the race was fresh in the mind.
It seems for all the promotion of it being the best half marathon in the world (I don't doubt this from an elite perspective) the results as a whole don't measure up well to other races.
For example 50% of Dublin race were 1:55 or under.
25% of GNR runners were under this time (1:55), 50% placing was around 2:07


Would this be down to the fancy dress/charidee nature of the event?
Would lack of timing waves at the start also be a factor? I haven't run this one but other great run event I did in London had waves.

Should the ballot not reserve a certain amount of places for each time category (sub 1:20, 1:30, 1:40)?
I've not entered the ballot before so maybe there is such a thing where you prove a previous half marathon result?

syngindub

rovers_runner wrote: »

Kipsang is some man, must have been promised a big bonus for a win there too.

Was looking at results in comparison to the Dublin half on Sat as the race was fresh in the mind.
It seems for all the promotion of it being the best half marathon in the world (I don't doubt this from an elite perspective) the results as a whole don't measure up well to other races.
For example 50% of Dublin race were 1:55 or.
25% of GNR run were under this time (1:55), 50% placing was around 2:07


Would this be down to the fancy dress/charidee nature of the event?
Would lack of timing waves at the start also be a factor? I haven't run this one but other great run event I did in London had waves.

Should the ballot not reserve a certain amount of places for each time category (sub 1:20, 1:30, 1:40)?
I've not entered the ballot before so maybe there is such a thing where you prove a previous half marathon result?

what we're the number of runners for each race..

8,000 Dublin
50, 000 GNR
?

rovers_runner

syngindub wrote: »

what we're the number of runners for each race..

8,000 Dublin
50, 000 GNR
?

Did a comparison of finishers
6300 Dublin
39000 GNR
The point of it was in percentage terms, should there be such a difference simply due to numbers?
This is a target race for the majority in the UK as you know you are in months before hand.

EauRouge79

eliwallach wrote: »

Did ye ever doubt tirunesh Dibaba?

Thought she went early as the commentators said and Kiplagat reacted well, 2nd time round you kind of new that Kiplagat was done for. In saying that she still hung in there well.
Dibaba looks so comfortable though, she is a joy to watch.

ThePiedPiper

The times don't particularly surprise me. The GNR, while very fast and elite at the sharp end, is really I think more of a fun run for a lot of the participants. The Dublin half, in being linked in with the marathon, is much more geared towards runners that are targeting a marathon, and as such, are probably at a higher level.

I know a good few people in the UK who talk about doing the GNR, in the same sort of way that people here would talk about the mini-marathon. A fantastic event I'm sure, but the aim of it for most isn't about running fast times. Imagine trying to pass 10,000 people in the first couple of miles to even get a relatively modest bit a road to run on!

rovers_runner

I would like to take part in it myself someday too, it looks a great route.
Although it appeared that even the 1:40 -1:50 people were pretty congested coming to the finish line, I can't imagine how tough this would be for the full race.

rainbow kirby

RunForestRun wrote: »

The GNR, while very fast and elite at the sharp end, is really I think more of a fun run for a lot of the participants.

Ended up being that for me, unfortunately - injured for a good while before it :pac: A hell of a lot of charity runners and people in costumes too. Getting passed by a guy in an inflatable Mr Blobby suit is a bit depressing.

RunForestRun wrote: »

Imagine trying to pass 10,000 people in the first couple of miles to even get a relatively modest bit a road to run on!

Usual applies here - if people start in the right place it shouldn't be a problem - there were 12 marked corrals, and people were assigned to them based on their predicted time (specified on the ballot). Not very well enforced though, I started in the 4th one and there were people who were wearing pink numbers (from right at the back) there.

rovers_runner wrote: »

I would like to take part in it myself someday too, it looks a great route.

It's good craic Going over the Tyne bridge with the Red Arrows overhead was pretty sweet. I didn't find the route particularly visually inspiring, but the atmosphere the whole way along was great.

rovers_runner wrote: »

Although it appeared that even the 1:40 -1:50 people were pretty congested coming to the finish line, I can't imagine how tough this would be for the full race.

I would have started with quite a few of them, but was going backwards the whole time. It did spread out a bit, and I never found it uncomfortable, but if space is a priority this probably isn't a good choice.

douglasman

I did the Great North Run in 2011. It's a great course to run, lots of inclines that go on for a while, but they are very moderate inclines. In terms of easy, moderate or hard, I would classify the course as easy, so PB's are a regular occurance on this course. It's the best supported race I've ever ran, all along the entire route. There are no such problems with having to pass runners at the start, as you estimate your time as part of the application process and get a particular coloured bib with a letter on it, A = olympic elite athlete (must have ran an elite time in an actual half marathon to get this letter) all the way down to Z. You then go to your particular pen that applies to your letter. I was B so it only took me 25 seconds to cross the start line. People are still crossing the start line 45 MINUTES after the race starts. With this in mind, GNR is run as a chip time race. I overtook people towards the end for instance, but they still finished several hundred places above me as they must have been further back at the start so you really have no idea where you finished until everyone has finished! Overtaking people is not a problem as long as you start in the correct place for your ability and the roads are wide enough for most of the route. It's only the final kilometre in South Shields itself that it starts to get congested but they funnel you into different lanes towards the end so you can still get a bit of overtaking done in the final few hundered metres. I was just outside the 1hr 30 min mark which was top 1000, but from 1hr 40 min on, it starts to get very busy alright at the finish line. It's the kind of race that can be enjoyed by all, elite athletes, club athletes and the masses that are taking part for charity.