00:00 The Great North Run is the largest half marathon in the world with thousands of people running
00:06 every year.
00:07 The run was founded by Sir Brendan Foster and John Kane who wanted to have a race that
00:12 started in Newcastle and went over the Tyne Bridge.
00:15 John drove from Newcastle to try and find a good route for the run and ended up finding
00:19 the finish line before the start.
00:22 He then drove back from South Shales back to Newcastle until he reached the 13 mile
00:26 mark to create the half marathon.
00:29 For the very first Great North Run in 1981 over 12,000 people took part in the race and
00:35 it has just grown from there.
00:37 The very first winner was a former British Olympic athlete named Mike McLeod who was
00:41 from Northumberland.
00:44 From then many athletes have taken part in the run including Kevin Keegan, Mo Farah and
00:49 Paula Radcliffe.
00:50 The Great North Run just continued to grow over the years with even more people taking
00:55 part just for the experience.
00:58 The Great North Run even holds the largest half marathon in the Guinness World Records
01:03 after over 41,000 people ran in 2014.
01:07 And during that race the Great North Run achieved their 1 millionth finisher since the event
01:11 started in 1981.
01:14 For the first few years 8 of the races actually took place in June before it was moved to
01:18 early Autumn to make it easier on the runners as the temperature was lower.
01:23 The Great North Run now traditionally takes place in September and this year it will be
01:27 on the weekend of the 9th.
01:29 As well as the Great North Run, the Junior and Mini Runs take place the day before the
01:33 big event so kids can have the chance to get involved.
01:37 The Mini Run is for 3 to 8 year olds to take on a 1.5k run and the juniors for those aged
01:43 9 to 15 can take on a 2.5k race.
01:47 The Great North Run will then take place on the 10th of September.
01:51 For those that maybe don't know, the run starts here along the Central Motorway near the Town
01:55 Moor.
01:56 The runners ride through Newcastle over the iconic Tyne Bridge where the Red Arrows will
02:00 do a flyby during the race.
02:02 Runners will then make their way through Gateshead and past the stadium to continue along to
02:06 Park Lane.
02:07 They will then continue to run through South Tyneside to finally make their way along the
02:11 Coast Road to the finish line.
02:14 During the race a number of roads will be closed on the weekend and the full list can
02:18 be found on the Great Run website.
02:21 Those running the Great North Run usually run in different waves.
02:25 You have people who run professionally like the athletes and those who entered the ballot.
02:29 And then you have others who are running to raise money for charity and want to experience
02:34 the Great North Run.
02:37 As runners cross the finish line, each person is given a medal, a finisher t-shirt and a
02:41 finisher's bag.
02:43 For a lot of people it is an overwhelming experience to cross the finish line with so
02:47 many people cheering on from the crowds in South Shales.
02:51 Many stop to take pictures of their achievements whilst trying to keep their body moving.
02:55 And every person runs for a different reason even if they aren't supporting a charity.
03:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments