Unpredictable Weather at the Great North Run 2023: Heatwaves to Monsoons

The Great North Run is one of my favorite races of the year, and boy o boy this one was one to rememeber.
We made the teip to Newcastle Saturday morning in glorious September sun, welcomed by the fantastic people in Newcastle and had a chilled Saturday preparing for the 13.1 mil half marathon run from Newcastle to South Shields on the Sunday.
The weather was looking mixed, very hot for the race followed by thunder and showers in the afternoon. And they couldnt have been more right, and wrong!
The race was very very hot, so much so that I had to slow by pace down to get round, taking on lots of water during the half marathin race, and just enjoing the atmosphere of this great race. The Great North Run is one of the biggest and best half marathin races in the world.
After the race, the skies darkened and the heavy heavy rain came. Now known and the Great North Run 2023 Monsoon, over amonths worth of rain fell in an hour, with the rain sewers unable to handle the volume. Roads and paths flooded, transport shut down leaving poeple stranded, and everyone ran for cover in shops, pubs and porches. Anything to get out of the heavy downpours.
Severl hours later the metro and busses reopened and poeple managed to get home. But everyone who was there will never forget the end of the Great North Run 2023, now dubbed The Great North Run Flood.
Check out my video where i run the Great North Run half marathon in blstering heat and capture all the monsoon weather as we make our way home to Newcastle.
#GreatNorthRun2023 #halfmarathon #running

[@richinleam]

The weather was crazy. I was in the beer tent waiting for a couple of other runners from the pink wave to finish and the rain was soo heavy it took part of the beer tent roof down. That started to flood too. Took me 7 hours to get back to Newcastle. Fun times as ever, the support was incredible.

[@LookItsMrT]

I feel bad for the people who were sat under the bit of the roof that collapsed.. they got soaked lol

[@gimoruns]

No way, I didn’t realise the beer tent roof came in!!! It was super heavy rain but such a shame it ended that way. We’ve always stayed around the arena for hours after chatting with other runners but didn’t get much of a chance to do that this year. Oh well, on to #GNR2024 😉

[@richinleam]

@@LookItsMrT I had front row seats for it! It was some surge. I hope they can laugh about it now and it doesn't put them off coming back.

[@alinaion5992]

Wow, at min 9:40 I am just behind you!!!thank you for posting the video Indeed was the most unpredictable weather , one extreme to the other but I would definitely do it again…AMAZING Well done everyone

[@gimoruns]

Haha thats awesome I’ve never had some one comment on a video who was in the background. Great day wasn’t it, too hot one minute and too wet the next 😂

[@simonhodgson4941]

😂😂 you took me straight back to Sunday. You was 4 mins quicker than me. Had an amazing time, so hot at the start but amazing for my second GNR and then the rain was rain i had never seen before. Strangest day but as always the most amazing. I came across your video by accident and really enjoyed it. Subscribed👍

[@gimoruns]

That day will live on for a long time won’t it 😂😂. From super hot running to super hard rain, kinda had it all. Glad the video brought back the memories and thanks for the sub too 👍🏻. Hope your race went well, but the question is….will you be returning in 2024?? We will for sure 👌🏻

[@simonhodgson4941]

@@gimoruns 100% returning. Next run is Royal parks half marathon next month, not done it before but it looks great.

[@JangoFett220]

I was in this as well. Finished the run just shy of 3 hours (not my best but due to the heat at the start it was understandable) and I crossed the line maybe 10-20 mins prior to the storm. The only relief I had was that I finished before it

[@carolineiredale3124]

I was there too! Managed to cross the finish line about 5 mins before the heavens opened ⛈️☔️⛈️

[@gimoruns]

That rain was absolutely crazy. We had just started walking back into town and got caught right in the middle of it all.

[@ChrisBrown-dy8ts]

Great to re-live the day , I was outside the pub when the rain came, roads were like rivers , took us 3ish hrs to get out of S, Shields on our coach. But what a day . Great video. Well done .

[@gimoruns]

Thanks Chris, glad you liked the video. It was a mixed day wasn’t it. Blazing sun, torrential rain. Absolutely crazy, but loved it. The Great North Run is always a fantastic weekend, can’t wait to return next year 😊

[@ChrisBrown-dy8ts]

@@gimoruns I’m there again next yr. might c you there 🏃‍♂️

[@AidanJokes]

I live 3 hours away from NCL, i finished at 13:15ish, got an uber (somehow) to my car in gateshead, drove home. Was home by 5pm (200+ miles away) My friend who lives in Byker, didn't get home til 8pm, and they finished 12 minutes after me. Madness!

[@staffnurse007]

Well done to everyone who ran the race as you were all trying to find shelter from the down pour the medical teams were still operating outside so big cheer for us

[@gimoruns]

A huge well done to everyone, it wasn’t the finish we all wanted and I get it was tough for all the service providers and vendors there. So a huge 👏🏻👏🏻

[@Rubix78]

I am so glad I got the bus before the rain came, I got caught in it 3 minutes from my hotel but least I got back.

[@gimoruns]

Ahhhh you missed it all. Lucky for sure, I didn’t like being absolutely drenched for hours. But it was also fun playing around in that downpour 😂

[@Rubix78]

@gimoruns I still got soaked but at least I got back to the centre. Loved the race and will be back!

[@avinashbhogun]

Blimey 😮

[@christianc397]

great video, we live in shields and have never seen anything like that before hahaha. Genuinely turned into a night time bath

[@gimoruns]

It was the craziest rain I’ve ever been caught in. Fun capturing the footage but then it just turned to a cold and wet feeling and I just wanted to get back to the hotel to change 😂

[@christianc397]

@@gimoruns i rate the dedication, doing my first ever one next year so hopefully the weather is slightly better🤣

[@64kram]

It was like someone turned off the lights, it got so dark. That rain turned so heavy, so quickly! Managed to get on one of the last buses to the city - a trip that took 3 hours (no exaggeration)

[@gimoruns]

Yeah that’s what I thought, I looked at my watch and it was 3:30pm but it felt like dusk. Was crazy, then that rain. Wowzers!! We waited it out in a bar for the metro to reopen, finally got back to Newcastle for 7:30pm 😂

[@adrianrutterford762]

Thanks for the video. We managed to get into one of the beach front bars as the clouds opened. It was a long haul home using the ferry to North Shields.

[@gimoruns]

That’s was probably the best plan. By the time we made it into a bar it was like I’d got out of the shower in my clothes 😂

[@rogerdickinson6944]

I ran it for the first time this year, I really enjoyed the run, even in the heat! I did it in 2hrs 11. I could have ran faster if it had been cooler. I do feel that finishing in South Sheilds makes little sense now. You are penned in by the sea/river on two sides and by road closures on the other two sides, so trapped in this enclave. If they either ran along the river and then turned south into South Sheilds or just ran the current route and turned South when you get to the sea front, then people would be able to take transport from the area.

[@gimoruns]

Well done that’s a great time considering the heat. I think maybe that’s why the run that route and end it where they doc to keep people in the area and maximise people’s time and spending. If the area had easy outs they may lose the volume of people quickly. We always stick around the entertainment area for a number of hours after the race to avoid the rush. So I guess it works.

[@JustJack80]

The same hotel, our room was very grotty. Pretty run down I thought. Luckily I managed to miss the rain :)

[@gimoruns]

Yeah we’ve stayed there a few times just because of the location to the Hard Rock, Steakhouse, and other restaurants. But agreed it’s a bit shabby now, although staff are great. How lucky were you missing the rain!!

[@JustJack80]

@@gimoruns More so we booked a Double and got a twin-accessible room, which looked nothing like the photos regardless. Staff pleasent and breakfast was good, trusty eggs, beans and bacon always gets me through a race. I checked the forecast and it said rain was predicted, grabbed a beer and walked to the tram station before the crowds got bigger, once we got to Central the heavens opened so waited inside at the station bar. The city centre was flooded for a short period as well. Was happy overall, my first GNR, great crowds and a mixed bag of weather, and no blisters!

[@Millennial_Mike]

Gutting that it was so damn hot... ruins it a bit when people are passing out

[@gimoruns]

Oh yeah for sure, it’s not nice seeing people on the floor but the first aiders seemed to have everything under control and got to people quick which was excellent to see. Hope everyone made a quick recovery

[@ABucc]

You know when the rain is coming down in sheets, it can't be good.

[@gimoruns]

haha, it was manic rain. I think they said a months worth of rain fell in an hour. Im not sure what month they were referring too, but it must have been a month when it rained like every day because wowzers a lot fell on Sunday lol!

[@chipbuttytime3396]

South Shields needed a good wash, just like its inhabitant.

[@kimberleysmith2451]

I stupidly didn't train so still had a mile to go when the sky opened! Still loved it though :)

[@gimoruns]

Oh no, bet you got totally soaked!!

[@PoetWithPace]

Gotta love good British weather eh? 💦💦💦

[@gimoruns]

Oh yeah for sure, and it really came down too 😂

[@ricardiosentulio607]

I was there. It was great until the floods. Took two hours to travel eight miles in the car afterwards because absolutely nothing was moving. Plus I looked like a drowned rat.

[@selinaelson1842]

I've ran the GNR 8 times and it's rain a far few times in the past but not as bad as that. Top tip though would recommend you get hotel at the finish or near finish as your not waiting to get out on buses etc it's easier to get to the start then getting back to the start when you've finished your race.

[@gimoruns]

I’ve done it 5, and absolutely love the race and the atmosphere. It’s just brilliant. I’ve always staged on either Jesmond or Newcastle city centre, usually Quay side. Always wanted to try staying in South Shields, but worries the travel to the start might be a pain. May give it a go. Ext year though 👍🏻

[@Malskivvy]

I was in a pub when rain started thankfully, running rivers down the street 🏊. The metro is the worst transport system anywhere. Too much sun, leaves on the line, too windy, always breaking down. Bring Trainline back

[@gimoruns]

Haha best place to be when that monsoon fell. We got to a bar, but was soaked to the skin by then. A few beers took my mind of sitting there in soaking running gear though. 😂

[@martinblack5021]

Luckily I finished and jumped on an R1 bus before heavens opened. Poor bedraggled runners coming back into Newcastle centre at about 7 o’clock, so E with families in tow. Felt for them

[@harryclague2157]

Unfortunately the race has grown too big. A quarter of a million people (if you assume every runner has a few family members attending) descending on south shields is not sustainable. Every year it has become harder and harder to get back to Newcastle city. It took us 5 hours this year to get back, standing in consistent rain after running. It is a miracle neither myself or family got severely ill. It takes the shine off the weekend. Either limit the numbers and have a contingency plan for when things go wrong like they did. Or finish the race at Town Moor like the year of COVID. It is becoming the not so great north run. We have friends who have run everyone since '81 and even they are getting sick of it. Big congrats to everyone who ran, but the organisers need to forget about TV money and focus on the thousands of runners raising money for charity.

[@gimoruns]

I’ll agree, it seems bigger every year. For some reason it felt really busy down the sea front over that last mile this year, hard to put my foot on the gas and pick up some finishing speed as too many people. But, it’s not a PB course so it’s generally turning into a fun run for me. And I’ll be back every year. Still an amazing race and weekend

[@darrenfawke4013]

Reminds of Malta 2019 lol

[@gimoruns]

Me too Darren, but that was much worse wasn’t it