With just days to go, thousands of people from the region and many from further afield will now be making their final preparations for this year’s Great North Run. We recently added a memory to our archives from a former runner, Harry Crane, who began running professionally in the late 1940s and tells some interesting stories of life as a pro back then. From retiring as a professional in 1970 he continued running as an amateur for many years achieving success as a veteran and among his many experiences, took part in the very first Great North Run. Below is an extract from this memory:
“The year was 1953, my dad said he’d been saving up and would buy me a new pair of running spikes made to measure. These were made of very fine kid leather and cost £7, a lot of money in those days. I was earning about 35 shillings a week. When I first tried running with these new spikes on it felt as if I had nothing on my feet. I can still recall the way I felt on the morning of that race. I thought I could jump over a five-barred gate without touching it. As I warmed up I could hear the bookmakers shouting the betting odds for the runners in my heat. By this time I had butterflies in my stomach and a very dry mouth. I just wanted to get started.”
You can read the full memory here: A Run Back in Time – Remembering the Past
For those of you who are running, we hope it inspires you and good luck on the day.
First Great North Run Medal 1981