Louise Damen's Blog by Louise_Damen

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Great North Run last weekend. No doubt there are some sore legs out there! Due to recent niggles, I watched this year’s race on TV, which although was frustrating, it was inspiring in more ways than one. To be honest I’ve often been so caught up in my own little bubble as an athlete that I’ve been oblivious to the thousands of other runners who take to the streets of Newcastle every year. The stories and motivations behind many of those in the mass race were touching and reminded me of how lucky I am to be able to do what I do. With millions of pounds being raised for charity the real heroes aren’t the guys and the girls who can complete 13.1 miles at breakneck speed, it’s those who battle their way round to help others who are less fortunate than themselves.

Of course I watched the women’s race with interest and it was great to see my pals Jo Pavey and Helen Clitheroe have strong runs. Both Jo and Helen have an amazing range over distances ranging from 1500m right up to half marathon and beyond. The men’s race was just mind blowing; 58.56 for 13.1 miles is crazy! Despite making it look easy, rest assured I bet men’s winner Martin Mathathi was hurting like everyone else in those last few miles. I raced the Great North Run last year and I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done, both physically and mentally. It was my first race in 18 months after a long term ankle injury so to be fair I jumped back in at the deep end!

In for a penny, in for a pound! The gun went and in the first few minutes of the race it became apparent that trying to go with the lead group in the women’s elite field would be suicidal, but the second group was running slightly slower than the pace I was aiming for. I needed to know where my fitness was at, so I decided to crack on and run at my own pace even though that meant I’d be running on my own. The next 13 miles were pretty surreal; imagine running in the world’s largest half marathon and not seeing another runner until the last 200m! Well, that’s exactly what happened! There’s always a danger in women’s only races that you might become isolated, especially over the longer distances.

But after my lonely run in the Great North I thought that by the laws of probability it would be unlikely to happen again. How wrong was I?! My Great North experience last year in fact set me up perfectly for the London Marathon this year, as once again I found myself running on my tod for most of the race! Although it wasn’t ideal I lived to tell the tale and I now know I can run a half decent time trial if need be. The loneliness of the long distance runner, now there’s a cliché! Next time, Chris and I go camping at 3000m. Have a great week.