Two dedicated Chronicle colleagues ran, cycled and swam their way through their own personal ‘try-athlon’ for a charity close to their hearts.
Just two months after Trinity Mirror advertising managers Karen Clydesdale and Gayle Grisdale endured the 13.1 mile Great Manchester Cycle Run and the mile-long Great North Swim within days of each other, they completed their hat-trick with the Great North Run in Newcastle last weekend.
The colleagues joined thousands of runners from across the region to take part in the 13.1 mile race in the name of Cancer Research, and sticking together, managed the feat in three hours, four minutes and 55 seconds.
It was a massive personal challenge for Karen, 39 and Gayle, 37, who put themselves in for the charity bid after Karen’s sister was diagnosed with thyroid cancer earlier this year.
“Thankfully my sister now has the all clear, all thanks to the amazing work of Cancer Research,” said Karen.
“Gayle and I felt there was only so much partying we could do and we’re not runners by any means, so this was a huge challenge for us and we feel absolutely brilliant that we’ve managed to do all three challenges.
“We call it our own personal ‘try-athlon’. We started this with zero fitness levels, but we feel so much fitter now.”
The pair, who are both based at The Chronicle’s Maple House building on Sealand Road, said their experience was made easier by the friendly people of Newcastle who lined the streets to support the runners.
Gayle said: “The people really did help to make it an amazing experience, they were so friendly.
“There were just thousands of them lining the streets to give out biscuits - it really spurred us on; I’d run 20 miles for a jaffa cake!
“But the hardest part was getting past the hill at the tenth mile - knowing we had 3 miles to go was torture and we felt like we were going to die at one stage, but luckily we had only just crossed the finish line before the heavens opened.”
Karen and Gayle have raised £600 from their feat, which has spurred them on to enter themselves in next year’s London Marathon.
“A month ago I didn’t even think I’d manage to conquer this, so in spite of the London Marathon being twice the distance of the Great North Run we’re determined to give it a go,” said Karen.
“And we’re definitely going to do the Great North Run and the Swim next year to try and beat our times but first I think we deserve to have a bit of fun.”
Karen and Gayle have raised 61% of their target so far. To sponsor them, go to www.justgiving.com/KarenClydesdale
