North East Running

Check out the route on Strava: -  https://www.strava.com/routes/25679100 As with the other Wallsend route, Hadrian Park is a good place to start - park somewhere near  NE28 9UY . The first 6-7km takes you out to the coast, a bit of a trek out along pavements, but well worth it when you get to the coast. A lovely run up north to St Mary's Lighthouse. Make sure you plan the run so that the tide is out and you can get across the causeway. There should be seals on the rocks - fantastic wildlife. The way back winds through some hidden trails and fields and then finally it's through the lovely Rising Sun Country Park back to the start. The Whitley Bay Spanish City Always best if you can catch the sun rise St Mary's Lighthouse Seals on the rocks Strava Segment of note : - Grey Horse to Sainsbury Roundabout - Bang out a fast 1km Useful links : Find out more about Whitley Bay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitley_Bay St Mary's Lighthouse https://e

Check out the route on Strava... -  https://www.strava.com/routes/24969820 Right, I live in Durham so I am biased, but Durham City Centre is one of the best places to run in the world. This route below is a mix of stuff that is off the hidden track, but also some of the classic paths along the River Wear. Start north of Durham at the Arnison Centre shopping centre - park DH1 5GD . Take the route to the picturesque high security Frankland Prison, take a left, and then you are on some lovely quiet country roads that wind their way down to Finchale Priory. On the way to the Priory, look left to see 30-40 deserted World War II bunkers. Cross the bride at the Priory and make your way along the narrow path alongside the Wear. Follow the Strava route on your phone and it'll then wind you up through the woods, over the A1 and out at West Rainton. At Pittington it's back on trails again, all of the way back down to the River Wear. Then follow the Wear around Durham City taking in th

Check out the route on Strava -  https://www.strava.com/routes/26517626 Park in Hadrian Park Wallsend to start the run off by going through the Rising Sun Country Park - NE28 9YB (ish). Going through the country park is a lovely start, then it's a case of banging out 4-5km on the road until you get the top of Jesmond Dene. The run through Jesmond Dene and then the Ousebourn Valley has to be one of the best routes in the North East - absolutely beautiful (and slightly downhill). When hitting the River Tyne, go west for a bit for the photo opportunity of the Sage/Millenium Bridge etc... Then it's back to Wallsend via the Byker Wall (a bit of a climb). There's a nice finish going through both Wallsend parks and then through the burn and up old wagon ways back to Hadrian Park again. Selected photos... Jesmond Dene - old bridge and mill Ousbourn Valley - Cool city centre redevelopment area Run a little bit along the Tyne for the view of Newcastle-Gateshead

Check out the route on Strava: -  https://www.strava.com/routes/2712429120681375302 Park in the car park at Hetton Lyons Country Park - nearest postcode I could find is - DH5 0RH - but make sure you don't end up south of the park and get stuck in the industrial estate - check it out on Google Maps. The first 1km is uphill on country roads, but then there is a lovely 7-8 km all of the way down to the sea front. Then the sea front is a really nice 3-4km. The way back isn't quite as picturesque (and slightly up-hill) - you do get to take in the pleasure of the Dalton Park 10km RunNation route though :) Selected photos... Hetton Lyons Lake The Mediterranean, errr, I mean the North Sea A bit of mining history Strava Segment of note : Right along the front - Pick up the pace for 2km along the sea front Useful links : Hetton Lyons Country Park -  https://www.seeitdoitsunderland.co.uk/hetton-lyons-country-park Visit Seaham -  https://www.thisisdurham.com/e

Check out the route on Strava: -  https://www.strava.com/routes/28667368 Park in this little car park on the edge of Herrington Country Park - DH4 7EL  - then it is a windy route down to the River Wear. Once across the bridge then it is a mix of cycle path, trail surface and then paved river walkways to Sunderland. Then up and over the bridge before running through Sunderland City Centre. The route then goes through a few parks, over the A19 via a little farm bridge then a return to Herrington Country Park. Selected photos... The view from under the new bridge Old industry on the wear looking up to the football stadium More bridges Penshaw Monument (worth running up to if you have never been) Strava Segment of note : - Wearmouth X - Sprint across that bridge! Useful links : Penshaw Monument https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/penshaw-monument Washington Wetlands Centre https://www.wwt.org.uk/wetland-centres/washington Herrington Country Park https://www.see

Check out the route on Strava... -  https://www.strava.com/routes/28673374 I parked in a Italian Restaurant car park in Castle Eden - TS27 4SU . Then ran down a little lane to cut into the Castle Eden Dene nature reserve. I got lost a bit, ended up on the golf course, but managed to get on the right path eventually which eventually wound its way all of the way down to the cliff tops. There is then a beautiful cliff top run down the coast. Finally it's along the Hart-Hesswell walkway all of the way back to Castle Eden. Selected photos... Castle Eden Dene nature reserve paths Railway viaduct approaching the coast North East coast Strava Segment of note : Durham Coast HM-Final KM!  - A nice fast, flat km to go for and get into the top 10. Useful links : Castle Eden Dene Walks... https://www.thisisdurham.com/things-to-do/castle-eden-dene-the-squirrel-walk-p665671 Blackhall Rocks clifftops... https://durhamwt.com/reserves/blackhall-rocks-cross-gill-nature

I'm really undecided whether to go for Adidas or Nike when I get my next pair of running shoes that I use for races. Past experiences Since I started really enjoying running around two years ago I have kept two pairs of running shoes at a time. One for training and one for races. The Adidas Ultraboost has been my choice for training. Pros : - Sturdy enough to run on trails and rough surfaces - Good cushioning - Last really well Cons : - Feel a bit heavy when doing speed work. Every 800km - a new pair of Ultraboosts! When racing (anything from parkrun up to half marathon and even an occasionally 5,000m on the track) I've been running in the Nike Vaporfly 4% Flyknits . Pros : - Very lightweight - Hug your feet like a glove - In my experience, celiver times 5-10s faster per km than any shoe I have ran in Cons : - Really poor grip in wet conditions - try and run Hexham parkrun on the wet grass and not fall over - Starting to edge toward £200 for a pair

Check out the route on Strava: -  https://www.strava.com/routes/2701333318819795686 Park at Temple Park car park - NE34 8QN . Head north into South Shields centre and then along to the River Tyne - this first 5km is a pretty average run along the roads in and out of the town. But once you hit the river, the rest of the run is fantastic. A full 10km stretch down the coast seeing the pier, the beach, behind the dunes and then up on the National Trust cliff tops that take in the views of Souter Lighthouse and Marsden Rock. This coast line has become pretty famous this summer (2020) for spotting pods of dolphin too! Then the surprise of the route is how nice the last section from Whitburn back to Temple Park is, undulating tracks past historic windmills and water towers. A lovely run. Selected photos... Marsden Rock The beautiful north east coast Souter Lighthouse Whitburn to South Shields trail Strava Segment of note : Trow Rocks to Souter Lighthouse - All of

Running up hill strengthens slightly different muscles and also if you can run fast up hill then it makes it easier when you get back on the flat again. The segment below is a good little climb near the railway station in Durham. -  https://www.strava.com/segments/15049242 At just under 300m in length and around +20m in elevation (7%) it's not so steep that you cannot build up any pace, but it's tough enough to make you gasp for breath at the top. Find your local hill to run up When I am doing this session, I plan it in as part of a bigger run. So maybe 2km warm up, then six attempts at the hill sprint with a nice rest looping around to the bottom after each effort. Then 1-2km warm up at the end. A few years' ago I pulled my calf doing hill sprints, so I'm always that little bit extra careful with a good warm up before a hill session, This blog post is part of a set of posts looking at how to run faster: - https://northeastrunning.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-

Basically an interval session in which you are varying the length of the efforts and the intervals. The session below is... 4 sets of 200m (20s rest between each effort) 2 sets of 400m (40s rest) 2 sets of 800m (80s rest) 2 sets of 400m (40s rest) 4 sets of 200m (20s rest) Some will say that you should try and maintain the same pace for each effort - but for me this will inevitably mean making the 200m effort too comfortable and the 800m maybe too hard to maintain. So as you can see from above splits in the screenshot for my first km when the splits were short I was hitting just over a 3:20/km pace and the middle km for the 800m splits it was nearer 3:40/km. But at the end of the day you aren't looking at your watch - you are just putting in the effort for the distance and checking the pace after the session, This blog post is part of a set of posts looking at how to run faster: - https://northeastrunning.blogspot.com/2020/07/how-to-run-faster.html

Maybe there is a little bit more science to it, but for me a threshold run is pretty much as fast as you would go in a race. Maybe 2 or 3 seconds slower each km that absolutely flat out. Also you probably won't have the same adrenaline going as if it was a big race - but it's a training effort where you aren't holding back much. Threshold run As you are going hard, maybe the most important part of the session is planning a route which allows you to safely cross any roads. A nice tarmac surface without too many inclines is also good. Also plan to do the run at a time where you aren't having to barge past a path full of people out for walks. The screenshot above shows a recent threshold run I did - maybe I'd do a parkrun at a 3:42/km pace - you can see from the above splits that on average this tough effort was 4s/5s slower per km (depending on elevation gain). Finally, remember to vary your training efforts - doing three threshold efforts a week will drive

Tempo runs should be runs at a hard pace, but a pace you know you can comfortably do. So if your 5k race pace is around 3:45/km then drop 20s off this pace to say 4:05/km so that you are within your comfort zone - but still having to put an effort in. If your race pace is around 5:00/km, then maybe drop aim for 5:25/km for a tempo run. The coach at the club I go to used to call these 'comfortably hard' runs. If you can have a conversation then you are not trying hard enough. Tempo run As the effort is a little easier on a tempo run, I tend to make the run a little longer than just a 5k when doing this as a training effort. 10k is a nice distance to do - an out-and-back route on a decent surface. If there is a little bit of undulation then it keeps it interesting as you have to put a touch more effort on the up-hills to keep the pace there and then get a slight easing off on the downhills. In the weeks leading up to a half marathon race I like to doing a weekly tempo

Check out the route on Strava: -  https://www.strava.com/routes/2720358038188182482 Parking in Newcastle can be a little tough - but next to the Cycle Hub NE6 1BU . The route below is a bit longer at 24km than just a HM - but you can reduce it in size by starting and finishing at the Swing Bridge. But it's nice to take in the views of Millenium Bridge, The Sage, The Baltic, so worth the extra 2-3km. All very nice and flat - all on good surfaces. Suggest running out along the north side. Turn when you get to Newburn Bridge. On the way back along the south side you get to run past the Metro Centre, a bit of Blaydon Races history and past the Dunston Straiths. A bit of a classic North East long run! Selected photos... The famous Tyne Bridge and Swing Bridge Gateshead Quays - The Baltic, The Sage and The Millenium Bridge A boat that has seen better days I went to Blaydon Races, twas on the ninth of June Strava Segment of note : Millenium Bridge - North - T

A fast session I really enjoy is a progression run, it's quite fun to plan out how you'd work up to a fast pace and then keep an eye on your watch to slowly ratchet up the pace over around 8km. Example progression run The screenshot above shows an example progression run. A few points below: The warm up isn't quite as important for this session as the first couple of km are at a reasonably comfortable pace. As it's not as intense, as say an interval session, I'd suggest running a little further - maybe 8km or 10km. Plan a sensible route, no major roads to cross in the last 2-3km. Measure it out on a tool like Strava Route Builder so you know how far it is. Plan to finish at your race pace, then work the calculations back to make sure you jump up in pace ever 0:10/km each km. So in the example above, to finish at 3:50/km pace the initial km was at 5:00/km pace. Finishing hard mimics a race where you want to give everything for the last 1-2 km to finish

Watch any video on youtube about how to run a faster 5k and they'll always mention the 'interval session'. Basically this is running 1km at around your race pace. Then having 60-90 seconds rest. Then doing it again until you have done five (or maybe eight) intervals. The interval session The above screenshot shows an interval session I did recently. A few points of note Do a warm up first. Personally, I just like doing a 2km run, starting pretty slow, but in the second km stretch the pace up a few times. Others do stretching - but generally I quite like just spending 8-9 minutes building up to running pace. Plan a route that is pretty flat and has no nasty road junctions. Run each km at roughly the same pace you'd run a parkrun. I'd do a typical parkrun in around 18'20 to 18'40. So this is roughly 3:45/km pace. But some days you feel good and it'll be slightly faster, some days slightly slower. If you run your parkruns in around 25:00 then do

Important note Holy Island is an island. The sea comes in and covers the causeway. So you have to pick a time for the run which is safe. Before reading further - check out the official advice below... -  https://holyislandcrossingtimes.northumberland.gov.uk/ Check out the route on Strava: -  https://www.strava.com/routes/2719641022936103876 I checked the tide and the weather forecast and spotted a 0530 first crossing of the day combined with a blue sky - perfect. Parking can be done early in the morning at the tiny village of Beale about 1.5km from the crossing - TD15 2PB . The first section of the route is longer than expected, almost 6km to get onto the main part of the island running along the road. Then you can turn left and loop around a footpath that takes you clockwise around Holy Island. I saw three deer and also nine or ten seals in the waters to the east shores. The castle and priory are then stunning - the little port and village centre are lovely too. Then, if you d