It’s a little over a week until one of the biggest events in the Newcastle calendar, the Great North Run. There’s a whole weekend of fun planned for the 41st GNR, running from Friday 9th to Sunday 11th September, and the city will be buzzing. Even if you’re not one of the 60,000 entrants in the main event (the biggest race yet!), there’s still a packed weekend to look forward to.
Things kick off with the Great North Run 5k on Friday, starting at 6pm and following a fun route around the Quayside. It’s followed by the first UK Athletics 5k Road Championships, with the women’s race starting at 7.30pm and the men’s at 7.55pm, so it’s a great opportunity to both cheer on friends and family in the 5k and see some star athletes in the championship.
Saturday is all about the kids! There’s the Mini Great North Run for 3-8 year olds, that covers a 1.5k route over the Swing Bridge and past Sage Gateshead and The Baltic. And there’s the Junior Great North Run – for 9-15 year olds – which covers 4k on a similar route. Again, it will be the biggest yet, with over 9,000 kids taking part in the two races. The races take place all day and are split by age, with the first group – the 9-10 Junior Girls – hitting the tarmac at 8.45am and the last – the 9-10 Junior Boys – at 4.50pm. The Wheelchair and Mini 50 races start at 2.35 and 2.50pm respectively The Mini 50 is a special 50 metre course to enable children who wouldn’t be able to take part in the other races because of their circumstances to have the opportunity to get involved. For full details about entering, check out the website.
As well as the races themselves, you’ll find a charity and entertainment village with food stalls and sports-related kids activities (including Bitesize Bootcamp). And the new GNR mascot Tyney The Tortoise is going to be popping up all over to cheer the runners on.
Then of course, it’s the big one! Back on its traditional city-to-the-sea route after last year’s lockdown-induced city centre iteration, the main Great North Run will start on the Central Motorway and head across the Tyne and out to South Shields, finishing on the seafront. The first to start will be the elite wheelchair racers at 10.15am, with the Elite Women and the visually impaired runners starting shortly afterwards and the elite men and the public starting en masse at 10.45am. There’ll be the traditional Red Arrows flypast at around 11am followed by a full display at 1.45pm at the finish line. If you want to get a good view to spectate, overlooking the starting line is popular, as is the Tyne Bridge. Or head to the end and cheer them over the line.
There’s nothing quite like Newcastle on the weekend of the Great North Run and with lots to do and see, it’s always something to remember.
