[Yorkie]

I've received an email saying I have to 'cash in' my GNR token by 25th July to secure my place. I am still unable to run due to a groin injury 5 week ago and there is only 11 wk left until the race. My head already knows it is completely unrealistic to think I can run it but my heart is struggling to accept failure.
I think I'm holding out for a glimmer of hope that someone might say 'but you can get to half marathon standard with just a few weeks training from scratch'...........hmmmm think it's time to wake up now

 

[Owain]

Thats a real shame, have you ran the GNR before?

O.

 

[Richard]

I suppose it depends on what you want to achieve in the GNR and what level of fitness you have at the moment. You could maybe walk some and run some?

I ran a Half Marathon a couple of weeks ago in 1 hour and 52 mins which I was delighted with. I had only been running for around 10 or 11 weeks. However my base fitness was quite good as I had been training 2 or 3 times a week in a martial art.

I have a similar dilema as yourself. I half the Loch Ness Marathon coming up in October, in fact I think it's the same day as the GNR. However, I am struggling a bit at the moment as my right knee has decided to play up. The furthest I've ran so far is 13.1 miles so I've still got a bit of training ahead of me.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do

 

[Trinity]

To be honest, there are loads of half marathons much better than GNR... I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

I ran it once...was not impressed at all...tough to get a good time because you're running in cramped conditions from start to finish
It's what I like to term as an 'exhibition race' rather than a proper race

 

[Rob]

Yorkie, I missed the ballot for the GNR as I cocked up my online ballot thing somehow, so I was a little disappointed and started to look for an alternative. Anyway, I settled on the Carlisle half which takes place two weeks after the GNR. In retrospect, I'm kind of pleased because the GNR costs 40 pounds or so to enter and the Carlisle one is only 20 pounds and has something like 2000 runners. Would you be able to do Carlisle instead? My 12 week training schedule doesn't start until the week after next. There is also the Brass Monkey half in York in late January if you wanted some more time to recover and a new goal to keep you training through winter. I hope your injury gets better soon

 

[twinkle toes]

I agree with Trin, it was one expensive weekend especially if you need overnight accommodation, I had to stay in a right hole for 2 nights, and the course isn't as hard as they make out either.

Although like Richard has said it depends on what you want to get out of it.

 

[richardsimkiss]

Plenty more fish fingers in the freezer, or something like that!

Don't worry about it... I can understand how frustrated you must be, but you'll get a LOT more satisfaction from running/jogging a half in 6 months time than you will by walking/hobbling around the GNR in 11weeks

 

[Slowsteve]

If you run a half marathon while injured you may make things even worse - better to let your injury heal and then enter another.

And don't think of it as failure - even the best athletes have to miss races because of injury.

To help get over the disappointment why not choose another race to aim for and then focus on getting yourself in shape for that.

 

[richardsimkiss]

Slowsteve is bang on... enter yourself into another race and you'll forget all about GNR pretty sharpish!

 

[Yorkie]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies and suggestions.

No I've not done GNR before. I'd not been running long when I signed up for it, It was going to be my first big goal/acheivement. The reason I picked GNR over another half was purely because it was the only one I'd really heard of and I lived in Newcastle for a couple of years and had seen what a big thing it was, also it was before I came across this forum and realised there were many others out there.

I know I shouldn't think of it as a failure, and like you say Slowsteve even top athletes are held back by injuries, but it's just the fact It was supposed to be my first goal. I wasn't aiming to finish it in any kind of time but I did want to run the whole thing, so to still enter and run/walk it I feel I would be letting myself down.

I'm not sure whether to enter for another race, the thought of entering a proper race seems very daunting as it will be amongst serious runners where as although I feel serious about running I don't know if I'm actually serious about racing, with the GNR I would have been amongst many others that were doing it for their own personal acheivement of actually finishing rather than trying to come first. If I do enter another I think the Carlisle would also be pushing it timewise, maybe the brass monkey would be more sensible to give my injury a good chance to heal properly.

Good luck with the Loch Ness half Richard, hope your knee settles down ok

 

[richardsimkiss]

Don't be put off by the 'competitive' element of a race - they're all much the same!!! You have those at the front who train religiously and are hell bent on winning... then you've got a chunk of people who would like to be like those at the front and are steadily improving, and from then on you get a whole host of people, people who are naturally fit but never really run, those who run recreationally, newcomers to the sport, people who run for the love of it without ever expecting a prize for their position... and you get them all in every race! Even the most serious races I've entered that are full of competitive club runners have plenty of fun-runners in them.

Trust me

 

[twinkle toes]

I quite agree :d

 

[Dave]

So do I..........

 

[hot foot]

hear hear.....:d

 

[Steady Edwina]

The reason I love running so much is that I can run my own race and people at races are really friendly I always end up chatting to someone new. I'm actually doing the GNR this year just wanted to be able to say I'd run it and I went to college in Sunderland so I'm combining it with a weekend away to relive some old memories.

 

[Yorkie]

Ok i'll wait til I'm back on track with running again and then try pluck up the courage to enter another race.

Sorry Rob, forgot to wish you luck also in the Carlise half.......good luck

 

[Yorkie]

whoops just realised I've now forgotten to wish you good luck too Steady Edwina........good luck for GNR

 

[Steady Edwina]

Thanks

 

[Rob]

Yorkie, you could also consider Redcar half marathon too, I forgot to mention it, I've done it twice and it has a very varied line-up of runners of all levels and abilities. It's held in April. You could use the rest of this year to take it easy and gradually build up your fitness properly and start a schedule for it in the New Year or look at the link below and see if there are any shorter local races you might have a go at in the meantime.

List of future races in North East England

 

[roadrunnerrob]

Don't be put off by the 'competitive' element of a race - they're all much the same!!! You have those at the front who train religiously and are hell bent on winning... then you've got a chunk of people who would like to be like those at the front and are steadily improving, and from then on you get a whole host of people, people who are naturally fit but never really run, those who run recreationally, newcomers to the sport, people who run for the love of it without ever expecting a prize for their position... and you get them all in every race! Even the most serious races I've entered that are full of competitive club runners have plenty of fun-runners in them.

Trust me

I agree (and trust you!). I've now run the country's biggest 10k (Great Manchester) and probably one of the smallest this weekend gone - and found the atmosphere, although different in scale of course, just as friendly at each. And like you say, there are those at the front who are mad keen and go hell for leather, those in the middle like me just aiming for a PB and steadily improving - and those who are still trundling in after I've finished my drink and cooled off a bit and eaten a coconut bar (but I usually cheer them on while I'm recovering!). And if anything, those at the back have achieved so much more, as they have had to work just as hard but for twice as long!

I was a bit wary of entering the smaller local races as I thought they would all be deadly serious experienced athletes, but it was the same mix as a much bigger race, just on a smaller scale - can't get enough of these things now