Who’d like to be the person to do the cross country race report after Helen O’Neils amazing one last time out? Oh that’ll be me then. So here we go:-

Temple Park South Shields was the venue for yesterday’s Sherman Cup – presumably it’s called this because the winner gets to take home an American tank but I couldn’t see it in the car park.

Only 5 men for us today (lame excuses like taking part in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii will only wash for so long Martin Hallissey!) but a strong turnout of 11 ladies meant our tent was pretty full at times today. After the now usual large dose of flag envy the races commenced.

The course itself was fast and pretty flat and a special note of thanks to the great marshals who were very encouraging throughout. Some great runs again today from so many of the club resulted in 13^th position overall in the female seniors and 18^th in the male veterans.

The highlights of the day were undoubtedly the wearing of the new woolly hat in club colours and the noisy jangling of the cowbells that came free with the hats. Girls, I know I look miserable when I run past but your support makes me so much faster (even if it is just to get away from the noise)

So, two races into my new cross country experience I’m able to confirm that:-

• It’s always sunny and warm
• There are always delicious cakes
• There are always noisy ladies cheering you on when you race
• There is always someone that trips up on the first lap
• There is always a large group of people that laugh at the person that trips up
• There is a strong chance that I’ll be the person that trips up at some point so I shouldn’t laugh

Roll on the 21^st of November and Aykley Heads (where there are NO steep hills apparently)

Full results available from http://harrierleague.com/results/2015-16/cup-shield/

I’ve never really ran since school prior to joining the club this year and the only time mud has come near me is in a face pack or maybe a little on my wellies at a farm with my little boy.

So it’s fair to say I was a little nervous when we arrived at Tanfield – literally a field with tents and hundreds of people in club vests which always scares me as this means they are “proper runners”.

We tracked down our club tent and met Jon who was sorting everyone’s numbers- he looked for me on the list but I spotted my name “Helen O’Neil- slow” – that’s actually what it said! I mean I don’t proclaim to be anything else but I thought it was a bit harsh to have it typed up on the registration list! Anyway I saw the other girls I knew from the club and got sidetracked into a very important decision about port-a-loo queue vs find a bush so off we trotted (obviously we went for the ladylike option).

We noticed a warm up route that had been set up- firstly my brain can’t digest why people would want to run in advance of the actual race? I respect this dedication but I needed to save every ounce of energy I had.

I saw the cakes and hot drinks being unpacked and had last minute thoughts about making up an injury to get out of it and just being a spectator but we were all in it together (about 8 of us newby girls) so we headed down for the start of the ladies race. Sue (experienced cross country guru) explains as we walk that we are in the slow section with the majority meaning we all go off first (ah so glad this explains my slow label).  We were warned not to get right at the front as some clubs get a bit competitive and we might get squished, elbowed or even pulled out the way as they come past! What? I only had 2 objectives 1) get round the 2 laps without falling on my face and 2) burn enough calories to have whatever I wanted at the cocktail evening I was off to that night.  We moved to the side ready to start as a pack- safety in numbers and all that!

The gun went off and we headed up a very muddy incline, the old nike trainers kept me upright but I was wishing I had spikes or something with a bit more grip as it was very slippy but we were soon on the flat and it was starting to space out a little. Now I won’t write this saying I loved every minute as anyone who knows me will know this is total lies. I hate most of it- everything hurting, trying to gasp for air, going bright red and having a runny nose as people try and take pictures of you? I tried to focus on the positives: the fresh air and nature, the kids that were out in the woods shouting their family and friends on and not an iPad in site. I’m thinking how this sort of thing is what I want Saturdays to be about when my little boy is older and just then I realised I was starting to come down a hill to a giant mud trench and everyone was trudging straight through it just to save time from going round it? I followed Victoria (who I’d been running behind for a while but neither of us could talk!) I  knew she would have a plan and id follow her. Nope she went straight through it as I got closer I realised there were no other options so jumped right in, calves submerged and splashing cold muddy water right up my legs.

My feet squidged for the first few steps afterwards but I realised I kind of liked it- I imagined us doing a tough mudder challenge like if seen on TV or something really ridiculous and thinking actually it’s not that random if I consider what I would have thought about me doing something like this a year ago! We started another gentle hill but this one wasn’t so bad as it was downhill after that and I could hear all the lads who had arrived for their race next cheering us on.  I briefly managed a thumbs up and a happy face as I ran past then took off for lap 2.  Lap 2 was easier- i knew what to expect and got excited to splash people more on my next trip through the mud trench.  The thinking gets quite deep when I run- I remember pondering whether I had chosen the right career representing fairness and equality in an HR role when I knew the boys had to do 3 laps and we only had to do 2! Nope I felt smugly happy about that.

I took my time trying to just keep running and not walk- plenty of people were walking up the hills by now and it always looks so tempting! I saved a little bit for a Helen sprint at the end- I knew a good few were ahead of me and was worried about the cake situation.  Then rest was standard – feel sick, can’t even walk, forgot to stop my garmin, the usual.

Then the magic happened and I still don’t understand how these endorphins work. After talking about how horrific the race was and how much I hated it for approximately 7 minutes afterwards I then completely transition.  Now it helps that by this time I have a snugly warm jumper on, a cup of coffee, a brownie and some amazing cheesecake in my hand but it’s like my mind forgets the pain and I now am laughing and joking with the other girls about how much fun it was!  (Kind of like forgetting the pain of childbirth but you know your going to get great sleep too!)

The lads then went off to do their race and the girls (aged between 24-54 I would say) then decided we were 16 year old cheer leaders whooping and shouting at the boys – for all 3 laps.  They loved it really. That’s all I’ll say about that.

By this point I knew I had completely forgotten the pain of out race and was having good crack with the rest of the ladies team- some I had just met for the first time but I knew then that I would be doing the rest of the season. Although note to self to buy some cheap spikes and bring spare shoes and I think it will be even better.  The results? I achieved both of my objectives and more.

There was no inappropriate banter and certainly no-one accidentally tried on anyone else’s clothes. We then all got straight out of the car park without delay.

Ok some of that last bit is not factually correct but what happens in cross country stays at cross country!

Great story below from the Quigleys who did the GNR in support of Breast Cancer this year.  Paul, Mary and their son Mathew are all member of Ponteland Runners and the club is proud to see this support for a great cause. The race report below is written by Matthew doing his first GNR…..

“I wasn’t exactly what you would called ‘enthusiastic’ when my parents suggested doing the Great North Run with them. I mean, come on – a half marathon? I could barely run for 5 kilometres without getting out of breath! But there was something in the back of my mind, a nagging feeling that I might as well try and see how it goes.

First run – 5km, as expected, completely exhausted by the end and wondering how on earth anyone could even do this voluntarily?! The difficulty that comes with properly running for the first time was really apparent, and I was unsure whether it was worth continuing if I was barely finishing such short distances. The half marathon looked like nothing but a hopeless, unattainable dream at this point… But despite that, running with my Mum and Dad was actually quite a nice, enjoyable experience, and so I thought maybe, just maybe, I’ll do another one.

Fast forward a few months, and I was constantly surpassing my own expectations for what I thought I could do. First 5, then 8, then 12. I was actually managing 12k runs consistently and without being totally drained! It was definitely thanks to Mum  and Dad that I was still going, as their endless support helped me push through in the moments I was struggling to get to grips with the increased distances. Having got this far alone with their help felt like a tremendous achievement alone, but I was still only halfway there on my journey to complete the Great North Run!

The next level of our training schedule was, for me, a new type of hurdle – the Long Runs (just hearing those two words filled me with dread). Though I had become comfortable with the shorter runs, these new 16km and 18km routes were not only more physically taxing than ever before, but also quite mentally draining as it required a large amount of motivation to keep going for at least an hour and a half! I recall my first 16km run being a pretty fiendish one along the river Tyne, forcing me to stop after around 13km, much to my disappointment. However, I was determined to press on and finish it, and somehow I managed to pick myself up and make it all the way to the end. After that, every run I did became just a little bit easier than the last – for the first time, I thought I could really do the half marathon!

In what felt like the blink of an eye, the day itself arrived. The distance from where we parked the car and where the race started was pretty long, and I could feel a bit of tension bubbling up inside me. The number of runners seemed incredibly vast when seeing it in person for the first time, a huge swathe of people reaching farther than I could see! It was 10:30 by now, the race was beginning for us soon. After a few minutes of stretches, my anticipation had boiled over and I was raring to go. Only five minutes left… two minutes… we moved up to the starting line, and I took a moment to take everything in.

Go.

My 21.1km trial had begun, and what a phenomenal atmosphere there was! The bystanders were cheering, and everywhere I looked I could see fascinating displays of support. Before I knew it, we were already a mile in and were approaching the bridge. Our pace was a bit fast, averaging about 5:15 min/Km, but I figured it would be good to bank a few faster kilometres for the tougher stretches later on! As we passed under the bridge, I heard a booming voice right in my ear, shouting “OGGI OGGI OGGI”, to which the hundreds of runners around us chanted back “OI OI OI!”. I did a half-glance to my right to have a look at who had started it, and honestly did a bit of a double take when I saw MY DAD yelling at the top of his voice. I’ll admit, I was pretty impressed!

Soon we were crossing the Tyne Bridge, and I started to settle into my comfortable running pace. Just ahead of me was Mum, who was leading us as we ducked and weaved our way past a number of people (in retrospect, we probably should have started in a slightly higher band!).

From there, we were managing pretty well and averaging under our target pace of 5:30 min/Km. Unfortunately, we seemed to have lost Dad somewhere behind us! A martyr to our cause I suppose, haha! The numerous water stations along the way were tremendously helpful, as I had made the fatal mistake of wearing two layers on a day that was bright and sunny! Needless to say, I was swelteringly hot and needed as much water as I could get. The water spraying stations along the way were godsends as well! Approaching the halfway point, Mum and I put on a burst of renewed energy and checked the time. 58 minutes, a fantastic time for us! If we could keep up the pace, we might be able to make it in sub 2 hours!

The motivation from making it to the halfway point was easily enough to keep me going for the next few kilometres, but I was starting to feel the fatigue kicking in. I was doing my best to keep up with Mum, but the sheer number of people made manoeuvring my way around to stay behind her rather tricky! My legs were heavier than ever at this point, around 16km, but hearing the sound of people cheering my name occasionally was such a great feeling that I was pushing on anyway!

Not for too long though, unfortunately. At the 18km mark, I had just about reached my limit and had to stop and catch my breath for the first time. It was at that point that I knew the last 3km were going to be reeeeally tough, but I couldn’t quit just yet! With a bit of mental effort, I started to run again, although at a bit of a slower pace than before.

Sure enough, the next 2km were TORTUROUS but somehow I managed them with the help of my iPod shuffle. I put on a burst of speed down the hill that led to the final straight, and what a feeling that was! When I reached the bottom, the end of the run was – to my delight and relief – in sight, and it instilled enough motivation in me that I was able to match my old pace as the finish line drew nearer and nearer. Then came the signs to signal the shortening distances which I thought would never end, just 800m, then 400m, finally the last 200m and by now I was panting, aching, going as fast as I possibly could and… I finished!!

All the months of long runs and hard work finally paid off as I triumphantly crossed the line, so glad that I was able to complete it. With a (not too shabby, I hope!) time of 2 hours and 2 minutes, I half-sat, half-collapsed onto the grass and just savoured the moment. With the help of my family and the fantastic supporters during the run, I managed to do what I definitely would consider one of the biggest achievements of my life, and I couldn’t be happier.”