History
The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster. Foster was inspired after running in the Round the Bays Race in New Zealand in 1979, and has built upon the Great North Run with a series of other Great Run road races.
The first Great North Run was staged on 28 June 1981, when 12,000 runners participated. By 2003, the number of participants had risen to 47,000. The 2011 event saw an announced field of 54,000. The number of finishers was 35,777 in 2007, the largest half marathon and the 13th largest running race that year. Note: The Göteborgsvarvet (Gothenburg Half Marathon) on May 16, 2009 had a total of 40,523 finishing runners and is since then the world's largest half-marathon.
In the 2005 Great North Run, the race celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. Events to mark the anniversary included the launch of the Great North Run Cultural Programme at the Sage Gateshead
On race day itself, four participants died en-route to South Shields. An inquest into the four deaths from 2005 began on Monday 5 June 2006 at Gateshead Council Chambers.
Following the death of four runners in 2005, more emergency service personnel were brought in to ensure there was adequate cover, although on race day itself, one participant died en-route to South Shields.
The 2007 Great North Run was held on 30 September and was started by former England and Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson. Kara Goucher defeated Paula Radcliffe in an impressive victory for the American. Goucher's winning time was 1:06:57.
The 2008 Great North Run was held on 5 October and was started by former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair.
The 2009 Great North Run was held on 20 September and was started by the musician Sting.
The 2010 Great North Run was the 30th running of the event and was held on 19 September and was started by TV presenters Ant & Dec. The number of finishers (half marathon only) was 39,459.
The 2011 Great North Run took place on the morning of Sunday, 18 September 2011. The race was started by World 5,000 metre champion Mo Farah.
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