The Great North Run, the world's largest attended half marathon and the toughest one I have done to date.

I had trained well, injury free and really in the mood to enjoy a great run in Newcastle. We stayed in a caravan park just North of Whitley Bay. 15mins by car to Northumberland Metro Station, £4.10 rtn even though nobody checked or scanned my ticket in or out. The Metro was busy but ok. Then a short walk from Haymarket to the start zones. The queues for the loos were crazy long and not marshelled, it meant my queue went at a snails pace as we appeared to only have a few portaloos compared to the others. The bag drop was straight forward. The zone pens were easy to find and considering how big this race is we were through the start pretty quickly. So far so good GNR.

The first 5k was great, the support, the roadside music, the runners chants and a fly over by the red arrows. Then my race fell apart, the race information said 18c it was much warmer than that or certainly felt like it. By the time I hit the halfway. I knew I was really in trouble, so I decided to forget the time, enjoy the occasion and concentrate on finishing. I still havent figure out what went wrong, the course felt like it had a small but consent incline after 5k (almost to the sea front) or maybe it was given the sheer number of people I shortened my stride and burnt myself out or maybe it was the heat. To be honest it felt like a combination of all 3.

I never stop in a half marathon even when I did my first one I never stopped. But I stopped around 15k, only for a few seconds and only to try and refocus my mind. If I hadn't had a lot of charity money I was running for I am not sure I would have got going again. I was not in a good place and really had to dig deep.

The supporters are amazing, jelly babies, ice pops, cut up oranges, folks with hosepipes in their front garden spray water over warm runners. I tried to high five as many kids as I could in the last quarter as they had spent their day cheering us on, considering how bad my race was going I even had a little beer from the pub stop!!!. There are plenty of water stops, plenty of aqua spray showers and a gel stop. St Johns Ambulance were also brilliant, but I have to say they had their hands full never have I seen so many runners down, injured, exhausted.

Finally coming sharply down to the sea front my body felt broken, the 800 to 400m stretch felt like a mile itself. But the crowd just got bigger and better. Exhausted, but knowing I could crawl from 400m I was taken over with emotion by the support. I promise you, you will never experience anything like it.

I finished it, I did it! ok 15mins away from my target time but I made it. I had a friend collaspe on mile 11 a couple of years ago and how I teased him. Well Jon, I apologise now because I think I was pretty close the that edge.

Chatting to my 2 friends and some of the other runners that also ran that day, all said it was really tough even though there was a difference of opinion on why. But at this stage of the day despite the challenge it had been a great day. Unfortunately Newcastle, it all went a bit sour thereafter. 58,000 people trying to ring each other means the mobile phone networks dont work. The letter meeting places are good and I never would have found my family if we hadnt prearranged a meet under the letter N. The bus queue was 90mins long!!!! It then dropped us in Newcastle, where we waited 2hr 30mins for the Tyne ferry!!! Then a 10min painfull walk to the metro, a 15min train and a car journey to WB. All in all it took 6 hours to get out, which is simply not good enough.

Gut feel is the Great North Run is now too big. Its too big for the runners, there really is very little room on the course from start to finish and its too big for Newcastle to cope transport, food etc. My recommendation would be to charge double but shrink the numbers by 25%.

Having said all of that the people of the North East where amazing and I will treasure the day forever.

Would I do it again, no...but I'm glad I did it once!