The Running Man

Photo by Steve Brock/Newcastle City Council

If you were watching the Great North Run yesterday, you might have seen a few familiar faces in the field, but did you spot Alan Hinkes? Look, that’s him on the start line, next to the Irish Olympic athlete Sonia O’Sullivan, and according to the photographer, not a million miles from a gaggle of Emmerdale beauties.

Alan was one of the 50,000 runners taking part in the Newcastle half-marathon, and says he’s run the course ‘about half a dozen times, I think’. He was uncharacteristically modest when we asked about his time, but, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, we found it here: www.greatrun.org. (Come on, you didn’t think we’d give up that easily, did you?)

“It’s a terrific event, and I’ve always really enjoyed taking part,” said Alan, who ran as part of a team raising money for the charity Cystic Fibrosis. Even so, he says he couldn’t resist a sprint start to lead the field before settling into the race. “It’s a really bizarre experience; all of a sudden there’s an empty road in front of you and the entire field at your back,” said Alan, before insisting that he just treats it as a fun run, honest. Well, maybe he does; on the start line, he didn’t miss the opportunity for a classic Alan-ism when Sonia O’Sullivan bent down next to him to check her laces before the off. Tsk, really...

So what’s he been up to since getting back from Kangch? Working with Berghaus and WaterAid, preparing for his new lecture series and spending time with his grandson mostly, as well as working on a book that we’ll be able to bring you more news on soon...

Alan’s brand new lecture series ‘The Full Mounty’ kicks off at Gaynor Sports Ambleside on 27 October and continues through November, with full details on the Berghaus website.