The Blaydon Race is a 5.9 mile athletics race from Newcastle upon Tyne, England to Blaydon that is steeped in local tradition. It takes place on June 9 every year and starts off with the singing of The Blaydon Races -- with the words as the basis for the race.
The actual race was the inspiration for Dr James Dewar of Blaydon Harriers, who organised the first 24 races starting in 1981. In the early years, the race attracted around 250 entries, but by 2004 a record of 4,000 people took part with more than 600 other hopefuls usually rejected.
The 25th anniversary of the race was run by the Blaydon Harriers in 2005 as the "Nike Jim Dewar Blaydon Race" in memory of James Dewar, who died in June 2004 just 2 days after the running of the 24th event.
The task of organising the race was guaranteed, with very heavy hearts, by other Blaydon Harrier stalwarts, and the event is now becoming more and more difficult to organise as its popularity means that the 4000 entry limit is now reached within hours of the race entry forms becoming available. The task isn't made any easier by the fact that the race runs through some of the busiest roads in Tyneside during the early evening rush hour - close cooperation between local councils, police, and local residents ensures that everyone still manages to have a great night out.
To be fair to all, the organisers allocate 2000 entries to online entrants, with another 2000 being available by post to allow those with limited internet access to have an equal chance to enter. In 2010, the 2000 online entries were all snapped up within a few hours of entries opening. The local postman even asked for help from Santa Claus to carry all the mailbags for the postal applications!
Each year, the event adopts a local Charity - many thousands of pounds have been raised for them each year.
Such was the demand in a few days in 2010, the event website became overloaded within a day of entries being announced. In response, the organisers quickly made alternative sites available:www.blaydonrace.co.uk and www.theblaydonrace.com
In keeping with the local flavour of this race, a lot of the instructions for entering, together with subsequent information mailed to competitors, is written in local Geordy Dialect. Some translations follow:
'Divvent wurri if ya moovin withoot ya legs waakin' : don't worry if you find yourself moving without trying to.
'Gan canny pet' : please take care.
'Wu wivvent charge ye owt extra or tyek any cut from it' : we will pass on to our charity everything you donate.
Famous quotes containing the word race:
“I’ve always wondered why European politicians as a group seemed brighter than American politicians as a group. Maybe it’s because many American politicians have the race issue to fall back on. They become lazy, suspicious of innovative ideas, and as a result American institutions atrophy.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)