Great North Run

Course & Elevation

The AJ Bell Great North Run is a point-to-point half marathon from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast at South Shields, held on a Sunday in September. The Great Run Company stages it. It was devised by Sir Brendan Foster, and the first race took place on 28 June 1981 with around 12,000 runners lining up on the Central Motorway. Runners start on the Central Motorway close to Town Moor, cross the Tyne Bridge, pass through Gateshead town centre and South Tyneside, and finish in South Shields after a final mile along the coast road. The organisers call it the world's biggest half marathon, and 63,000 runners took part in 2026. Places are allocated by ballot, with a first round in September and a second in January, or through charity places. A wheelchair race has been held alongside the run since the first edition. The course records are 58:56 for men, set by Martin Mathathi of Kenya in 2011, and 1:04:28 for women, set by Kenya's Brigid Kosgei in 2019. In 2026 Kosgei won again, in 1:06:15, and the United States' Zouhair Talbi won the men's race in 59:47.