GREAT EASTERN RUN

Laura Fountain had her fingers firmly crossed for this event back in October 2023

As we gathered on Peterborough Embankment ready for the 2023 Great Eastern Run to start, it felt like we all had our fingers crossed that all would be well. It’s a race that’s suffered more bad luck than most over the past few years, including an on-the-day cancellation, incorrect mileage calculations on the route and, of course, Covid.

But back to 2023… the sun was shining on Peterborough this time and racing conditions were perfect. Having run this race many times in the past, I know how good it can be.We don’t have hills in Peterborough and so this is one of the flattest half marathons in the country. and it can be fast. I was hoping to run under 1 hour 40 minutes; this had been my aim back in 2019 and I hadn’t managed to make it happen in the years since. I arrived in my start pen and found the 1:40 pacers, one of whom was the same pacer I’d stood nervously chatting to four years before.Was this a sign? There were plenty of pacers for various time goals, many recruited from local running clubs and the mood was good.

The race got underway on time, started by seven-time Olympic champion Sir Jason Kenny before he leapt into the crowd and ran the race himself.The first few miles were busy but everyone seemed to be placed in the right pen so there was little need for jostling as we made our way through the city centre.

The whole of the race takes place on closed roads and residents in all parts of the city come out to cheer runners as they go past: some turning their front gardens into makeshift aid stations or putting their speakers in their windows and turning up the sound. Peterborough has a number of running clubs and each was well represented by its members, either running or cheering.

I clung to the heels of the 1:40 pacer most of the way round until a couple of miles from the finish when I was urged to go ahead.I was nervous about the final miles, not just to see if my legs would keep the pace but because it had a new layout.The organisers had changed the route from previous years and we would now enter the cathedral grounds. It’s a very pretty route, but does involve a few more bends.As I rounded the final bend, I saw my sister and son cheering and I crossed the line in 1:39:45.The first woman over the finish line was Mabel Beckett of City of Norwich AC in a time of 1:17:05.

Happily, I can report it was the full half marathon distance, so it looks like the run of bad luck is over – the Great Eastern Run is officially great again.This year’s race takes place on 13 October. Sign up at greateastern.run