1. Run at your own pace. Do not be tempted to keep up with a pal, if he is going faster than you are. 2. Don't try to look too far ahead - you will only depress yourself when you realise how far you still have to go! I usually try to divide the run into smaller stages i.e. Tyne Bridge, Gateshead Stadium, Heworth roundabout, etc, and regard reaching each one of them as a minor triumph! 3. Even if you are tired, try not to stop - it is doubly difficult to get going again! Better to slow to a gentle jog or, at worst, a brisk walk. 4. Don’t be so focussed that you cannot indulge in a bit of banter with the crowd and with your fellow runners. It gives you a fantastic lift when you hear people cheering you on. 5. Do not be fooled into thinking you have reached the finish when you hit the sea front at Marsden - there is still a heck of a long way to go. 6. Enjoy it. When I ran last year it was the first time I had entered since 1988, and the experience was just magnificent. My personal bestI am nothing if not boringly consistent. Of the 7 I've done, the slowest was 2:20 (when I made the mistake of running with a friend, who "hit The Wall" at 10 miles and crawled the last bit!) but only two have been under two hours - the fastest of which was last year! In the heat of September 2005, at the age of 44, I did 1:59:40 - beating my best and improving on all the other times I did when I was in my 20s! Must be looking after myself. In addition, I did the second Run on my 21st birthday - June 27th, 1982 - when it was absolutely bucketing down. So wet that we had to cancel the garden party we had planned to hold in my mum and dad's allotment. Nice way to remember my 21st though! | 
