An annotated guide to the Blaydon Races

 BLAYDON RACES

Geordie Ridley (1862)

Aa went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aa tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's [1], an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went 'lang Collin'wood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

Chorus
Ah me lads, ye shudda seen us gannin',  
We pass'd the foaks alang the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wis lots o' lads an' lassies there, aal wi' smiling faces,  
Gannin' alang the Scotswood Road [2], to see the Blaydon Races.

We flew past Airmstrang's factory [3], and up to the "Robin Adair" [4],
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lassies lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hide their faces,
An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose gannin' te Blaydon Races.
(chorus)

When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' uthers to Doctor Gibbs [5],
An' sum sought out the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.
(chorus)

Noo when we gat to Paradise [6] thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aa sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aa danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aa went to Blaydon.
(chorus)

We flew across the Chain Bridge [7] reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Broon [8];
Aa saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's show in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon [9].
(chorus)

The rain it poor'd aall the day an' mayed the groons quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny [10] had a white hat on – they war shootin' "Whe stole the cuddy?!" [11]
There wis spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Noo, me lads, for riders."
(chorus)

NOTES
[Summary] The Blaydon Races gives a first-person account of how a bunch of intrepid revellers set off from Newcastle city centre to head for an island on the Tyne near Blaydon to see an annual horse racing meet.
On the way, disaster strikes when a bus wheel falls off - but, despite several folk suffering injuries, 24 people remain on the repaired vehicle as the party reaches Blaydon town. Unfortunately, their day does not much improve and heavy rain restricts the amount of races which they see. Nevertheless, as the narrator points out, there is plenty of alternative entertainment on offer - and, of course, Geordie Ridley's concert to attend later that evening.
Although the account of the trip to Blaydon is actually a work of fiction, there are some elements of truth in the final verse. Heavy rain on 9 June 1862 and missing horses were both reported in the local press. Racing was delayed until around 4pm.

[1] Balmbra's was a music hall in Geordie Ridley's day, named after its proprietor John Balmbra who had carried out extensive renovation work at around the time of the song. Based in the Cloth Market in Newcastle city centre, Balmbra's was the first place in which the Blaydon Races was performed by Geordie Ridley, and, in the song, it acts as the start point of the journey - something replicated in the present day by the 5.6-mile UK Athletics road race.
In 2004, Balmbra's was taken over by Birmingham chain Mitchell & Butlers who rebranded it as part of their Reflex franchise. Under pressure from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle and local politicians, the new owners incorporated the Balmbra's name into the title of the bar (Balmbra's Reflex). The building - now owned by the Malhotra Group - is currently closed but set to be renovated again.

[2] Scotswood Road was and still is the major throughfare between Blaydon and Newcastle city centre, currently part of the road network as the A695.

[3] Airmstrang's factory was a large munitions works, founded on the banks of the Tyne by one of the country’s greatest industrialists Lord William George Armstrong in 1847. Based in Elswick, it merged several times - notably, in 1882 with the shipbuilding firm Charles Mitchell to form Armstrong Mitchell & Company, and in 1897 with the engineering firm of Joseph Whitworth, whereupon it expanded its business into the manufacture of cars, trucks, and eventually aircraft. In 1927, it became Vickers-Armstrong, latterly Vickers, until a takeover by Rolls Royce in 1999. In the 17 year since then, the site has been owned briefly by BAE Systems and is now part of the Newcastle-based engineering company, the Reece Group. The address of the site remains the Armstrong Works.
 
[4] Robin Adair was a public house on the Newcastle side of the Scotswood Bridge, now demolished.

[5] Doctor Gibbs was the pre-eminent medical practicioner in Newcastle upon Tyne at the time of Geordie Ridley's verse - he charged all patients the same price and he remained in practice until his death in 1916.

[6] Paradise was not a paradise - but, rather, a reference to a local dump situated on Scotswood Road.

[7] The old Scotswood bridge was known as the Chain Bridge, a suspension bridge with two stone towers, from which a road deck was suspended by chains. Constructed in 1831, and widened a century later, it crossed the Tyne until 1967 when it was demolished following the construction of its replacement which stands to this day.

[8] Jackie Broon, referred to as a bellman in the song, was the town crier for Blaydon at the time of the song. He lived in Wesley Place and was buried in Blaydon cemetery on his death in 1901. His bell is now preserved by the Discovery Museum in Newcastle and is still today used to set off the runners from the bottom of the Cloth Market in the UK Athletics race.

[9] The Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon was established in 1846 for the eduction of the working classes. In 1852, a building - long since demolished - was erected in Tyne Street and contained a library, a reading room, and a lecture hall. It was supported and largely furnished by the secretary Joseph Cowen jnr. Of course, the real reason for this line in the song is that Geordie Ridley was effectively advertising his show which was to take place that evening after the horse racing had finished. As such, it is probably the case that the original song ended with this exhortation before a sixth and final verse was added later.

[10] Coffy Johnny was a blacksmith from Winlaton. A tall man for the Victorian period, he stood at well over six foot, and was something of a local celebrity - he would have certainly been well known to Geordie Ridley's audience. A formidable bare-knuckle fighter, Coffy Johnny knocked out a fellow hardman, Will Renwick, in a bout on 27 May 1850 which lasted over an hour and went 36 rounds. Coffy Johnny died in 1900 and is buried in the cemetery at St Paul's Church in Winlaton.
 
[11] "Whe stole the cuddy?!" - Geordie for "Who stole the horses?!" - likely to be a sarcastic jibe by Geordie Ridley on account of the lack of racing due to inclement weather to which he refers at the start of the verse: the rain it poor'd aall the day...

Sources
http://www.winlatonhistorysociety.btck.co.uk/BLAYDON-TheRoadtoBlaydonRaces http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DUR/Winlaton/Coffee
http://www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/GatesheadBlaydon.html

Artwork
The Blaydon Races by William Irving (1903)

Persistence pays off for my Blaydon Races sis

BREAKING the hour mark became something of an obsession for my fitness-mad sister this year as she took part in her third Blaydon Race on a glorious "Ninth of Joon".

Last year, the Race was run in a terrible monsoon on the 150th anniversary of Geordie Ridley's tune - and it would prove even more agonising for my sister as she was officially clocked at 61 minutes.

But, another 12 months on, she was determined not to run it so close again. An increased gym regime on the treadmill began, and it has ultimately delivered a superb result with her unofficial time coming in at 55 minutes.

The official time for my sister will follow soon - though, for the first time, the 4000 competitors had an immediate opportunity to find out the fruits of their efforts, thanks to the long-desired introduction of chip timing.

Entirely understandably, my sister was rather more concerned with getting home, showered and changed before heading back to town for a few drinks. For, undoubtedly, the most wonderful thing about the Blaydon Race is the sheer sociability of the event.

This is no more exemplified than by the goody bag at the finish line, which includes a t-shirt that changes year-on-year and, perhaps, the most welcome of prizes - a bottle of ale from the Wylam brewery.

Certainly, the beer was well-deserved for this year's athletes after a run in which the sun shone high and the temperatures soared during the hottest part of the day.

But, while the weather was the complete opposite to the downpour in 2012, the course remained faithfully based on Geordie Ridley's song.

Beginning at Balmbras at the bottom of the Bigg Market with a hearty version of the Geordie anthem, the run twisted its way through Newcastle city centre, heading alang Collingwood Street, up the Westgate Road and past the Metro Radio Arena.

That put the competitors onto the famous Scotswood Road and they then all crossed over the Scotswood Bridge before looping around the Derwenthaugh Marina near the MetroCentre.

In the final part of the race, the runners headed onto Chainbridge to take them "reet into Blaydon toon" before they finished on the football fields near to Shibdon Pond.

There, I witnessed the efforts of a man dressed as the angel Gabriel - unnervingly with horn and golden hotpants, another man carrying a fridge on his back, a Wonderwoman and a Batman.

Most of all, though, I looked out for my sister, and then watched proudly as she crossed the line just after 4pm.

Note: the official race charity of the 2013 Blaydon Race was Heel and Toe Children's Charity, a local charity which offers free conductive education therapy to children with cerebral palsy, dyspraxia and other motor disorders.


THE BLAYDON RACES (1862)
by Geordie Ridley

(1) Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

(chorus)
Ah me lads, ye shuda seen us gannin',
Passin' the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,  
Gannin' alang the Scotswood Road, t'see the Blaydon Races.

(2) We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair",
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines, an' the veils that hide their faces,
Aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

(3) When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' some to Doctor Gibbs's,
An' sum to the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.

(4) Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aw sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aw went to Blaydon.

(5) We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Broon;
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's show in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon

(6) The rain it poor'd aw the day an' myed the groons quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they yelled, "Whe stole the cuddy."
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Noo, me lads, for riders."

"The rain it poor'd doon aal the day an' it myed the groond quite muddy"*

*For non-Geordie speakers, this line from the final verse of Geordie Ridley's Blaydon Races translates as: "The rain poured down all day and made the ground very muddy."

THE WEATHER gods certainly had their say at yesterday's Blaydon Races - but they still could not spoil a brilliant - if very wet - 150th anniversary of Geordie Ridley's tune.

Dark clouds had been gathering on Tyneside all afternoon as flagship celebrations took place at Grey's Monument in Newcastle and beside Shibdon Pond in Blaydon.

Typically, though, the drizzle had somehow held off until all the runners were lined up at the bottom of the Groat Market for the start at 6pm.

And, pretty soon, those dark clouds had unleashed their torrents of rain, flooding the tarmac and soaking us as we headed alang the Scotswood Road.

Mercifully, the rain had eased a little by the time I had squelched across the Scotswood Bridge and around the Derwenthaugh loop as a series of bands encouraged us hearty souls alang the 5.9-mile route.

By then, heading into the last third of the race alang the Chainbridge Road, I knew I was going to make it again to the amended finish line this year.

That feeling came as quite a relief for, throughout the afternoon, my anxiety had unfortunately tried once again to get the better of me.

Specifically, I worried that my failure this year to do any training at all would cost me on the way round - even to the extent that I might collapse or at least embarrass myself by failing to finish.

Of course, my nervous disposition this time had some rational thought behind it - and my stiff leg muscles today are testament to the fact that it certainly is not best practice to run without training.

In the end, though, my negative mindset had still made far too much of the task ahead of me.

Indeed, as I ran onto the new finish on the Shibdon Road playing fields, the official timer told me that I had completed the race in 69 minutes - exactly the same as last year.

Now, I am fully aware that such a time is hardly an outstanding achievement. Certainly, my sister can be a lot prouder having broken through the hour mark this year.

But, like a horse competing in the Grand National at Aintree, my primary aim was simply just to negotiate a safe path all the way round.

Incidentally, Ridley's verse (see below) tells of an incident-packed bus journey from Balmbra's in Newcastle to a horse race on Stella island.

Crashing on the way, the bus loses a wheel and some of its passengers require medical attention. But those who continue eventually reach the racecourse on a rain-soaked day where they find "spice stalls, an' munkey shows, an' aud wives selling ciders" among other attractions.

As such, it just seemed to be keeping with tradition that I allowed myself a few fizzy ciders in the Bisley pub in Blaydon while gathering my post-race thoughts.

Prevalent among them was a sense of pride in taking part in one of the biggest days in Blaydon's history. However, I did also wonder just how well I might do at the event if I ever managed to train properly for it.

Ah well, there's always next year. Perhaps...








THE BLAYDON RACES
(1862)
Geordie Ridley

Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

Ah me lads, ye shud have seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.
 
We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair",
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hid their faces,
An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' uthers to Doctor Gibbs,
An' sum to the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.

Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aw sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aw went to Blaydon.

We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Broon;
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's show in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon.

The rain it poor'd aw the day an' myed the groond quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they war shootin' "Whe stole the cuddy?!"
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Noo, me lads, for riders."

Never mind the Jubilee, here's the Blaydon Races

AS the country gets swept away by a patriotic fervour for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, here in Geordieland there is growing excitement at the celebration of another special anniversary.

For, as noted previously on this blog in January, this coming Saturday 9 June marks the 150th anniversary of the Blaydon Races.

Of course, Geordie Day always attracts a variety of celebrations - but this year's date has meant there seems to be even more going on in Tyneside and elsewhere.

Marking the approximate start and the end of the course sung about by Geordie Ridley back in 1862, two flagship events take place at Grey's Monument in Newcastle and Shibdon Pond in Blaydon.

In Newcastle, the centrepiece of the celebrations from 1-5pm includes music, song and dance inspired by the Blaydon Races and its associated folk and music hall traditions. It will conclude with a mass singing of Ridley's verse.

Meanwhile, in Blaydon, a family day from 1-7pm will also feature traditional music hall entertainment as well as local youth marching band 'the Blaydon Buzzers'. Additionally, there will be two magicians, a circus strongman, an antique steam-powered carousel, a 5-a-side football area, and more.

Then, as the sun begins its slow decline at 6pm, the main event begins with the gathering of runners at the bottom of the Groat Market for the 32nd running of the 5.9-mile road race.

The race will wind itself through Newcastle city centre up Collingwood Street before gannin' alang the fabled Scotswood Road past Armstrong's factory.

It then takes in Derwenthaugh and Chainbridge Road, passes the Bisley pub in Blaydon, and finishes this year in the playing fields on Shibdon Road.

The leading runners can expect to be back before 6.30pm while I will just hope to make it all the way round to the finish.

No doubt, by that point, I will be gasping for the complementary beer provided by Wylam Brewery - and, speaking of the booze*, here is a full list of Blaydon Races events, organised in association with the 150th anniversary:
(*Not all events feature alcohol!)

FLAGSHIP EVENTS		Date	Time	Entry
- Grey's Monument, NE1	See link	9 June	1-5pm	Free
- Shibdon Pond, NE21	See link	9 June	1-7pm	Free
MUSIC
- Black Bull, NE21	Folk music concert	7 June	7.30pm	£6
- St Nicholas Cathedral, NE1	Felling Male Voice Choir	8 June	7pm	£10
- The Bridge Hotel, NE1	The Songs of Geordie Ridley	9 June	7.30pm	£6/
- The Three Tuns, Sheriff Hill, NE9	Black Rose (Thin Lizzy tribute)	9 June	9pm	£3^
- The Ware Rooms, NE1	Geordie beer hall/Oompah band	9 June	7pm	£5
IN THE PUB
- The Free Trade Inn, Byker, NE6	Themed quiz Night	6 June	9pm
- The Hotspur, Haymarket, NE1	Beer festival	7-10 Jun	All day	Free
- The Crown Posada, NE1	Beer festival	7-10 Jun	All day	Free
SPORT & LEISURE
- Complete Football Centre, NE3	Five-a-side football	9 June	10am	£70~
- The 32nd Blaydon Race	Newcastle to Blaydon (5.9 mi)	9 June	6pm start	Link
- Newcastle Greyhounds, NE6	Race Night	9 June	6.15pm	Free!
CHURCH SERVICES
- St Nicholas Cathedral, NE1	Service of Celebration	9 June	1pm	Free
- St Cuthbert's Church, NE21	Ecumenical Service	10 June	4pm	Free
EXHIBITIONS/HISTORY TALKS
- Newcastle City Library, NE1	Balmbras Music Hall	til 31 Jul	All day	Free
- Blaydon Leisure Centre, NE21	Blaydon Harriers Exhibition	9 June	8am-4pm	Free
- The Bisley, NE21	Art Exhibition; Live band	9 June	All day	Free>
WALKING TOURS
- Meet at Grey's Monument, NE1	‘Gannin te Blaydon Races’ tour	6 June	7pm	£4
- Meet at Cloth Market, NE1	‘Away we went alang Collingwood Street’ tour	8 & 10 June	10.30am &1pm	£4+
OTHER EVENTS
- Central Station, NE1	Alan Shearer renames a train	6 June	9.50am	Free
- Scotswood Village, NE15	Family event	9 June	4-7pm	Free
- Balmbras, NE1	Last Night in Balmbras Comedy	9 June	7pm	£15
- City Hall, NE1	Blaydon Bash: School Choirs	12 June	6.30pm	£5
GEORDIES IN EXILE
- Clerkenwell, London, EC1	See link	9 June	All day	Free
- 402 Nancy Avenue, Linthicum, Maryland, USA	Blaydon Race Event USA	9 June	12-4.30pm	Free

KEY

/ Sold out, returns only
^ £3; or free entry for anyone who dresses with this great celebration in mind (i.e. cloth caps/braces/hobnailed boots for the lads, bonnets and crinolenes for the lasses etc.)
~ Price per team (up to nine players). For the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
! Reserve places by calling 0191 2105300 and quote "Blaydon Races"
> Limited admission. Contact: Steve Ronchetti 07966496971
+ Pre-booking essential. To book, email info@tomkeating.net or call 0191 4885115

Blaydon gears up for a "proper celebration"

EVERY Geordie will hold the 9th of June close to their hearts - but the Geordie Day coming up in exactly five months is an occasion which should be especially marked on the calendar.

Why? Well, a listen to the opening lines of Geordie Ridley's iconic folk song and ye'll soon kna:

"Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon/
In eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon..."

Yes, Saturday 9 June 2012 will mark the 150th anniversary of the perilous journey in 1862 to the Blaydon Races which was the subject of Ridley's verse.

Of course, for the 32nd successive year, the athletics club - the bumble-bee coloured Harriers - will organise their 5.9-mile run from Balmbras in Newcastle alang the Scotswood Road and reet into Blaydon toon.

Entry for the race usually opens in February and gets full very quickly - in fact, last year, the limited capacity of 4,000 entrants was reached within four days.

However, some folks want a bigger celebration and there is a fully-fledged campaign for the councils of Gateshead and Newcastle upon Tyne to put their hands in their pockets just a bit.

Additionally, there has been a Facebook page set up with 747 members, and a Twitter feed @BlaydonRaces150 with 1,617 followers.

Most importantly, though, there is a petition to the two councils and local businesses which has so far attracted 1,934 signatories.

Speaking on BBC Radio Newcastle, chief organiser Aidan Oswell explained the reasoning behind the push for a "proper celebration".

He said: "It's important to me, and it's important to the other supporters of the campaign, because there is undoubtedly a very strong and powerful sense of pride within the Geordie community here on Tyneside and across the whole of the world.

"And I think it's important that we articulate that Geordie pride through the celebration of this anniversary."

Negotiations with the councils and other interested parties remain ongoing with the hope of a "significant event" in Newcastle city centre next summer as well as satellite celebrations across the Tyneside area.

But it is not too late to get involved - email DrGibbs@blaydonraces150.co.uk or get in contact via the social media links such as Facebook or Twitter with any contributions.

Gannin' alang the Scotswood Road...

GEORDIE pride has taken a bit of a blow in recent weeks with the screening of six-part reputation-shredding Geordie Shore on MTV.

A Facebook group proclaiming the death of Geordie pride on 24th May, the date of the first episode, now has nearly 30,000 members.

But, last night, the 31st Blaydon Race did its best to claim back our regional identity from the strangely perma-tanned pissheads on national television.

Never mind that the lads' winner was Kenyan Edwin Kipkorir in 28 minutes 25 seconds or that the fastest lass was Justina Helsop (31:45) from Clapham Chasers in London.

There were plenty of local club harriers and unattached runners who did themselves proud - not to mention the bands, the pubs and folk dancers providing associated entertainment.

As usual, the lads and lasses gathered for the 5.9-mile run at Balmbras on the Groat Market.

Tension built in the legs during a quick rendition of Geordie Ridley's famous music hall anthem before the race began at 7.15pm, winding its way through town past the Centre for Life and the Metro Radio Arena.

The first-mile post appeared just as we started to gan alang the Scotswood Road which is effectively a long, gentle slope towards the three-mile point before Scotswood Bridge.

After climbing the bridge and crossing the Tyne into the Borough of Gateshead, another friendly downhill slope took us into a contra-flow through Derwenthaugh.

Then, an unwelcome climb onto a footbridge led us onto the flat Chainbridge Road before a climb over the fly-over and a run through Blaydon town among the crowd throng in the last mile.

Having somewhat foolishly only made a half-hearted attempt at training, I was happy basically to survive the race by running 11-minute miles.

In respect of that aim, I was pretty successful, finishing in 69 minutes and 40 seconds (1:09.40) with a strained groin at two miles but a surprise attempt at a sprint finish to the line.

Of course, that was among the slower times in the night. In 2003, I completed a slightly shorter 5.7-mile race inside 56 minutes, and I was well beaten last night by my sister who completed her run in 62 minutes.

However, I was not disheartened by my relative tardiness. For a start, my time gives me plenty to work with and, after a bit more training, I would be hoping to be back towards 10-minute miles.

Also, my fast finish - though undoubtedly fuelled by adrenaline - suggested there was probably more in my legs for earlier in the race.

I had been concerned, though, that going any faster near the start would have led to a severe burnout. This actually happened back in my 2003 when I could barely put one foot in front of another for the final couple of miles.

And so, in an odd way, I am happier with my slower time as it appeared to be the result of a properly evenly-paced run rather than a screaming start and a burnout.

If nothing else, those extra 13 minutes allowed me to soak up a bit more of the excellent atmosphere created by the crowds - whether I wanted to or not!

Overall, my impressions of the event were positive.

And, with the Great North Run still to come on 18th September, I might make it as an amateur distance runner yet - even if my left groin and right knee do not seem to agree with that, this morning.

Note: Next year's Blaydon Race is the 150th anniversary of the 1862 horse race to which Geordie Ridley's song refers. As this website shows, there are already moves afoot to celebrate the occasion. 

The full BLAYDON RACE lyrics
by Geordie Ridley (1862)

Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon,
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon;
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden,
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

Ah me lads, ye shud only seen us gannin',
We pass'd the foaks upon the road just as they wor stannin';
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces,
Gawn alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair",
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines off, an' the veils that hide their faces,
An' aw got two black eyes an' a broken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen,
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem;
Sum went to the Dispensary an' uthers to Doctor Gibbs,
An' sum sought out the Infirmary to mend their broken ribs.

Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun;
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung;
They called on me to sing a sang, aw sung them "Paddy Fagan",
Aw danced a jig an' swung my twig that day aw went to Blaydon.

We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon,
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Broon;
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's concert in the Mechanics' Hall at Blaydon.

The rain it poor'd aw the day an' myed the groons quite muddy,
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they war shootin' "Whe stole the cuddy."
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders,
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Noo, me lads, for riders."

Geordie Day

The Blaydon Races Geordie Ridley (1862)

Aw went to Blaydon Races, 'twas on the ninth of Joon
Eiteen hundred an' sixty-two, on a summer's efternoon
Aw tyuk the 'bus frae Balmbra's, an' she wis heavy laden
Away we went alang Collingwood Street, that's on the road to Blaydon.

Ah me lads, ye shud only seen us gannin'
Passin the folks alang the road just as they wor stannin'
Thor wes lots o' lads an' lasses there, all wi' smiling faces
Gannin alang the Scotswood Road, to see the Blaydon Races.

We flew past Airmstrang's factory, and up to the "Robin Adair"
Just gannin' doon te the railway bridge, the 'bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines, an' the veils that hide their faces
Ah got two black eyes an' a brokken nose in gan te Blaydon Races.

When we gat the wheel put on away we went agyen
But them that had their noses broke they cam back ower hyem
Sum went to the Dispensary an' uthers to Doctor Gibbses
An' sum sought out the Infirmary to mend their broken ribses.

Noo when we gat to Paradise thor wes bonny gam begun
Thor was fower-an-twenty on the 'bus, man, hoo they danced an' sung
They called on me to sing a sang, ah sung them "Paddy Fagan"
Ah danced a jig an' swung my twig that day ah went to Blaydon.

We flew across the Chain Bridge reet into Blaydon toon
The bellman he was callin' there, they call him Jackie Broon
Aw saw him talkin' to sum cheps, an' them he was pursuadin'
To gan an' see Geordy Ridley's concert in the Mechanics' Haal at Blaydon.

The rain it poor'd aal the day an' myed the groons quite muddy
Coffy Johnny had a white hat on - they war shootin' "Whe stole the cuddy!"
There wes spice stalls an' munkey shows an' aud wives selling ciders
An' a chep wiv a hapenny roond aboot, shootin' "Noo, me boys, for riders."