WHEN Hexham businessman Derek Croasdale pulls on his running shoes for this year’s Great North Run, it will be the 25th time he has done so.

Derek, well-known as the town cobbler through his long-established Derek’s Shoe Bar in St Mary’s Chare, has completed all but three runs since his introduction to the iconic event back in 1988 and is looking forward to making it number 25.

His love affair with the run extends beyond just pounding every beat of the 13.1 miles from Newcastle to South Shields though, and for the past 20 years he has put on transport through Tyne Valley Coaches to get other local people to and from the event.

Had it not been for illness making him miss two events and a knee operation two years ago, Derek would be standing here today preparing for his 28th consecutive year.

And it was his first Great North Run at the age of 40 which gave him the running bug that remains with him, and which saw him a members of Tynedale Harriers for years.

He said: “I was getting a bit overweight and a lad I used to work with was a good runner, so he told me to get into it. But you feel a bit embarrassed when you’re just starting out, so you train at night and that carry on.

“I didn’t do a lot of sport and when you run a business you get stuck behind the counter, so I thought I needed to do some exercise.

“So I signed up for my first Great North Run and I instantly get hooked on the atmosphere.”

He continued: “The atmosphere is great and so are all the people you meet, because they come from all over.

“It’s funny when people come past you wearing an elephant costume! I used to go flat out from the start to the finish, but I don’t race it any more and it is all about enjoying it now. I just jogged around last year and it was my worse ever time of just under three hours, but it was great fun.”

While last year was the slowest time he has clocked up over the half marathon, he remembers fondly his best time recorded at the grand age of 50.

Having blasted the training, he shot around the course in a great time of one hour, 29 minutes and 46 seconds.

He said: “I was quite pleased because when you put a lot of training in, you get the rewards at the end of it.”

Ahead of the September 11, Derek is fearing he may struggle round for the first time as he admits he hasn’t put the required amount of training into it.

However, he has no plans to stop just yet and has provisionally pencilled in the 2018 run as his final one to coincide with his 70th birthday.

He has already hinted that this deadline may be extended though!