Great North Weekend and all that!

Isn’t it always the same?  You wait for the Great North Run weekend to come along and, before you know it, it has gone for another year!

It is always a busy weekend as far as the press / snappers are concerned but add to that the cream of the Olympic medallist and you have a ‘picture fest’ to rival any of the previous Great North Run weekends.

It was very nice to see Mo back up in Newcastle after one of the busiest times he can remember.  Talk about a career- changing week for the lad! Best of all, he’s still the same nice, quite lad who was so please to see one of his old running mates from Sunderland who came trackside to see him at Friday’s press call.  Mo and Malcolm Husain used to run together as juniors and try and keep in touch, so it was nice that they got together to chat about old times and just ‘stuff’.  

From a personal point, it was very nice to see Greg Rutherford up at Gateshead too.

Greg and I have ‘bumped’ into each other at various tracks across the UK and Europe for more than 10 years and so it was nice to have a real chat as only two gingers can do! Out of the sun!

“I have never done so much TV and stuff” he said “That’s something to do with the medal you won in London” was the obvious reply from yours truly.

It was very nice for Greg to grab Gold in London.  He has had his fair share – and someone else’s share, of injuries and bad luck during his long jump career.

I could go on but to finish with them both, they are still nice blokes who are enjoying the results of some very hard work: not just for the past couple of years but a lifetime of dedication and commitment to their particular discipline.

For the event, Gateshead riverside was awash with sunshine, colour and spectators. All three and the top athletes involved with the events made the 2012 Powerade City Games a great success once again.

Next day and the weather was a little cooler, ideal for the people running the 13.1 miles that is the Bupa Great North Run.

You can read here http://www.greatrun.org/News/NormalNews.aspx?nid=8243

about the races with both the Men’s and Women’s races going right down to the last few yards which was great for TV and the spectators who braved the wet to see the race from the roadside.

Wilson Kipsang, who I spent a week with down at London Marathon earlier this year, was up to form and looking good for what I think could be a unique treble.  London Marathon, Great North Run and New York Marathon all in the same year. Wilson is funny, very good with the media and runs very fast and I can see him being the person to watch for a few years to come.

As I said at the top, this weekend goes too quickly but is always a great weekend.