Race Date: Sunday 6th July 2025
At the Keith Hall Memorial 10k, Thorney, way back in March (when the weather was somewhat more clement than the current heatwave) Lucy Broom, Kate Waddicor, Louise Rowley and I happily finished in the first three of our age groups to qualify for the England, Welsh and UK Armed Forces Masters Home International Representation Race. This was incorporated within the Great North 10k and its field of 6960 finishers. Joining other qualifiers from all over the country who had also earned the coveted England vest as part of the England Masters Opportunities Programme we gathered with a sea of red and white and smaller groups of Welsh red at and, for the first time, Irish green at Town Moor, Newcastle for the annual Representation Race.
The England team line up before their match against Wales and Northern Ireland
The AJ Bell Great North 10k is a shorter version of its companion half marathon run every September. Having never raced in this great city before I was keen to run on the legendary Great North Road and experience the iconic Tyne Bridge. Back numbers collected and photos taken we set off on a warm still morning. (Championship race so age group on your back to identify your opponents. Ed.) The first 4.5k is a descent to the city centre and the river. After the turnaround in Gateshead a fairly flat stretch of 1.5k gave way to 4.5k of twisty ascent and back, past the University to the open ground of Town Moor for the finish.
Backs against the wall for Striders in Newcastle. Dot, Louise, Kate and Lucy anticipating a warm morning’s work ahead.
Kate, Louise and I were each carrying the usual runners niggles, tight glutes, sore ankles and clicky knees but we were really up for this so determined to make the best of the opportunity. There were ten W70 qualifiers and we fancied our chances of a 1-2-3 for Steel City and for England. Sub 50 minutes on a hilly course would be our goal. Obeying the rule not to ‘leave it all on the road’ in the first 5k, we made the descent at a conservative pace aiming to ramp up for the final assault on the road home. It’s hard to be disciplined when you have a lovely curving downhill but I think we stuck largely to the plan. I was straining to look for the other women in my age group so I could keep them close but apart from Louise who was a few meters behind I couldn’t see any. Pushing into the final stages of the run I could really feel the effect of a disrupted training programme which had reduced my usual mileage to a trickle.
Crossing the line as first W70 with Louise right behind at the end was a relief but Kate had struggled with her niggle and took a few minutes to punch through, smiling, 10th W70 to complete her challenge. More used to running the marathon this had been a tough one for her but to qualify for 10k, half marathon and marathon in the 2025 series was a triumph few of us will aspire to. Lucy, 7th W50, met us, all smiles and congratulations. She had had a very good race against the elite W50 group and was very happy with her improved time.
Making our way back to the England tent the heavens opened sending us scurrying for cover. A welcome rain shower to sooth our sweaty, aching bodies as Louise and I collected our respective gold and silver awards to make the day memorable for us both.
Louise Rowley receives her silver medal just pipping the third placed F70 by five seconds.
| Pos | Name | Cat | Time |
| 397 (5) | Lucy Broom | F50 | 41:43 |
| 1436 (1) | Dorothy Kesterton | F70 | 49:15 |
| 1740 (2) | Louise Rowley | F70 | 50:39 |
| 3342 (10) | Kate Waddicor | F70 | 57:42 |
Part of the AJ Bell, Great Run Series at the sharp end this was a quality race with first woman Louise Small (AFD) crossing the line in 33:35 minutes whilst first man Dean Williamson (Colchester/Army) ran 30:20 minutes. 6960 finishers the last of whom crossed the line in 1:52:42.
Full results can be found at: www.greatrun.org/results.