September 30th saw my second Great North Run, starting with a show at The Forum, Billingham, the night before and arriving at The Copthorne Hotel Newcastle in the early hours, only to find everyone in the street due to a small hotel fire. I didn’t run too much but got round, sprinting over the Tyne Bridge and onwards with Carol Vorderman, the first two miles went quickly and then it was walk and jog the rest of the way with Carol and Richard Whiteley’s widow Kathy. To meet so many people with so many stories to tell is humbling in the extreme, so many with dedications to lost relatives written on the backs of their running vests. I truly feel part of the Great North Run family and although I’m a rubbish runner I still got round quicker than the year before and thanks to everyone who cheered me on through the streets of Newcastle and Gateshead. Carol spent the run learning the numbers for pi the geometric thingy. I got as far as 3.14159 and got bored. Carol got about two dozen numbers and would have got more if the run had been longer. The sight of The Red Arrows over the sea was amazing and there were tears all around as they produced a giant heart in the sky. After all, every runner was giving their heart to someone special past or present and it made for an emotional moment. Well done the Red Arrows and to various old mates I met along the way, actors from Emmerdale, BBC morning newsreader Bill Turnbull who I worked with at Capital Radio, England manager Steve McLaren who took a second look at me gliding by like a gazelle, aware of his need of a new striker. It’s one of my greatest days of the year and my best wishes go out to the many thousands, literally the many thousands, I meet along the way.