Great North Run weekend is now only a few weeks away and soon thousands of people will be running through the streets. The race is so iconic and it known by almost everyone in the North East. So we are taking a look back at how the great north run was created and how it has changed so much over the years.
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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.
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