Great North Run – Complete.

The two weeks since the Great North Run have flown by, perhaps all time will now fly by.

Craig, Neal, Bekka, Reece, Graham and Daniel all finished, got the medal, got the t-shirt.

Craig and Neal finished with Freezers on their back. Freezers which ended up weighing around 18kg BEFORE the rain.

What started life as a flippant remark of a challenge, went on to raise over £3000 for Andy’s Man Club, in the memory of Joshua Van Leader.

It might sound dramatic, but this event has changed our lives – Dan, adamantly “not a runner” has run a sub 2-hour half marathon, and is targeting a marathon within the year. Reece wants to sign up for the London marathon (we’ll see about that), Bekka has overcome her previous anxiety around running, a freedom which ties back to the heart of our cause.

Neal’s ‘Race’ Report:

“It’s safe to say the GNR was one hell of a challenge! It took a lot of digging into a hole and grinding down the miles. On one hand, I felt lucky I could pull on the Ironman experience to make sure Craig & I kept on top of the nutrition, but on the other, nothing could prepare me for the weight of the freezer.

We came out hot, the atmosphere was just epic and we glided through the first 5 miles. Things drastically fell off a cliff from there. The straps breaking on Craig’s freezer cost us 5 minutes redoing them, Craig started to experience pain in his groin, and my calves were already firing up to get cramp.

Mile 9 was by far the lowest point. My cushions were falling away meaning the discomfort of the freezer started to kick on, Craig was feeling the depths of his longest-ever run, and we had used all our nutrition!

Luckily the team caught us up at this point and became a grind-it-out party. They kept the morale high, feeding us with the supplies, and after 45 minutes that felt like 2 hours, we hit that beautiful sea straight to hit the finish line. From there I think I just blanked out and disregarded the freezer at the finish line quicker than you can say Katsu Curry is Number 1”

Thank you to all who donated and supported us in other ways.

It was overwhelming on the day to see the spirit amongst runners doing it for a cause, whether Andys Man Club or any of the countless organisations which benefit from the Great North Run.

We’ve got an idea for next year, freezers are not a part of it.