The Great North Run Cultural Programme , now known as Great North Run Culture, is an annual series of artistic commissions which celebrate and respond to the Great North Run - the world's largest half-marathon - its history and route, its spirit and recollection, the thousands of journeys and stories of those who take part.
30-669: Established in 2005 to celebrate the twenty fifth Great North Run , Great North Run Culture explores the partnership between art and sport. Commissions have included film, photography, music, dance, painting, drawing, writing and mass participation projects. New work has been created by artists and creative practitioners including Jane and Louise Wilson , Michael Nyman , Fiona Banner , Bill Bryson ,David Almond, Julian Germain, Graham Dolphin, Neville Campbell, Michael Baig-Clifford and Ravi Deepres , Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard , Suky Best, James Edwards, Stephen Gill and Beat Streuli. To celebrate
60-871: A half marathon since 2017. The 10k race is the largest of its type in Europe. Usually held in mid-May, it is the third-largest mass participation running event in the United Kingdom , behind the Great North Run and the London Marathon . It is part of the Great Run series of road races in the UK. It was formerly sponsored by Bupa (2003–2014) and Morrisons (2015). The 10k course starts and finishes in Manchester city centre . It starts on Portland Street and heads southwest, out of
90-640: A 7-mile detour. The detour begins after nearly a mile, when it turns east onto the Mancunian Way . It heads down the length of the motorway section and continues for another mile along the Old Ashton Road . It then turns north and heads to the Etihad Stadium , before turning back and heading back to the point where the detour began. It then continues along the remainder of the 10k course. The 2007 race had an estimated 28,000 participants. Briton Jo Pavey won
120-435: A regular supporter of the event, Haile Gebrselassie . Ethiopian Bekele won the men's event just ahead of Farah. Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo came first the women's race and multi Olympic Gold Medalist David Weir won the wheelchair event. In 2014 the 34th Great North Run had 57000 participants, celebrated the 1 millionth runner to cross the finish line, and was the first to have a British man win in 29 years. Mo Farah completed
150-557: A runner died (the eighth death in the event's then 24-year history). The 2005 Great North Run was the twenty-fifth edition of the race. Events to mark the anniversary included the launch of the Great North Run Cultural Programme at the Sage Gateshead . The race was started by Mike McLeod , the winner of the inaugural race in 1981. During the race, four participants died en route to South Shields. An inquest into
180-702: The A167 road (the central motorway), on the edge of both the city centre and the Town Moor . The route heads east and south down the motorway section, around the eastern side of the city centre, then crosses the Tyne Bridge into Gateshead . It heads around the eastern side of Gateshead town centre, then at a roundabout turns east and heads down the A184 (the Felling Bypass) in the direction of Sunderland . After 3.5 miles (5.6 km),
210-567: The AJ Bell Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields . The run was devised by former Olympic 10,000 m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster . The first Great North Run was staged on 28 June 1981, when 12,000 runners participated. By 2011,
240-656: The 10 kilometres race and both events were contested on 17 May. Previous 10 km winner Haile Gebrselassie stated that he wanted to regain his UK All-Comers' record, which was broken by Micah Kogo's event winning run in 2007. Despite a strong first half of the race, Gebrselassie failed to break the record after he was impeded by wet and windy conditions. Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's race in 32:01 minutes but conditions also slowed her time, much to her dissatisfaction. Brian Alldis and Shelly Woods won their respective men's and women's wheelchair races. The addition of The Great City Games brought much attention to
270-558: The 25th anniversary of the Great North Run and to create a legacy from the first Cultural Programme film by Jane and Louise Wilson , an annual Moving Image Commission was launched, awarding an artist of film-maker £30,000 to create a new piece of work based on the Great North Run . The films are premiered in North East England in September as part of the Great North Run Cultural Programme, with an extract screened on
300-485: The A183. The last mile (1.6 km) of the route runs along the seafront road to the finishing line at South Shields. All roads on the course are closed several hours before the race begins, however multiple vehicles including TV crews, emergency services, event staff, and a fleet of buses carrying participants' belongings are authorised to travel between Newcastle and South Shields on the closed course roads ahead of and following
330-576: 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)
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#1732855930220360-612: The BBC as part of their live coverage of the Great North Run . There are plans to tour all of the works nationally and internationally from the end of 2008. Previous Moving Image Commission Awards 2006: Runner by Michael Baig-Clifford and Ravi Deepres Selected by: artist Louise Wilson ; Steven Bode, director of Film and Video Umbrella; Brendan Foster , chairman of the BUPA Great North Run ; Beth Rowson, curator and manager of
390-673: The Cultural Programme; Rebecca Shatwell, visual arts officer at Arts Council England . 2007: About Running by Suky Best Selected by: artist Mark Wallinger, Dave Gordon, head of special events at BBC Sport ; Brendan Foster ; Beth Rowson; Rebecca Shatwell 2008: Run for me by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard Selected by: artist Beat Streuli; Dave Gordon; Brendan Foster ; Beth Rowson; Rebecca Shatwell 2009: Parade by Vicki Bennett (People Like Us) Selected by: Amanda Ritson, visual arts officer at Arts Council England ; Paul Bonaventura, senior research fellow in fine art studies at
420-597: The Great Run event. Comprising a number of 150 metres races to be run on the streets near Manchester's Deansgate , Olympic Champions Usain Bolt and Christine Ohuruogu accepted invitations to compete. Other competitors included Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie , Ivory Williams , British Olympians Marlon Devonish and Donna Fraser , and a number of other British and Jamaican athletes. Bolt suffered minor leg injuries after crashing his car near Kingston, Jamaica , but after cancelling
450-519: The Great Run series. In November 2015, the Great Run Company announced it was searching for a new title sponsor which includes the Great North Run. The 2016 Great North Run was the first staging of the event without a title sponsor. Simplyhealth became the new lead sponsor for 2017. AJ Bell was announced as the new lead sponsor for the Great Run series in 2023 in a 5-year partnership In 2004
480-709: The Saturday before the main race on the Newcastle Quayside. Martin Mathathi holds the current men's course record with his run of 58:56 in 2011. In 2019, Brigid Kosgei 's women's course record of 64:28 bettered the previous mark by over a minute and was also the fastest ever half marathon by a woman; however, the course was not eligible for records. That same year, Mo Farah won a record sixth consecutive men's Great North Run. The Great North Run starts in Newcastle upon Tyne on
510-1024: The University of Oxford; Beth Rowson, manager of the Cultural Programme 2010: Girl Blue Running Shoe by Claire Leona Apps Selected by: Caroline Smith, arts consultant; Soraya Rodriguez, Director of Zoo Art Fair, Amanda Ritson and Beth Bate, director of Great North Run Culture. 2011: Run a Mile In My Shoes by David Blandy Selected by: Godfrey Worsdale, director of Baltic ; Alison Clark-Jenkins, director of Arts Council England North East; artist Simon Pope and Beth Bate. 2012: "The Order of Things" by Karin Kihlberg and Reuben Henry Selected by: Jon Bewley, director of Locus+; Alison Clark-Jenkins, director of Arts Council England North East; artist Graham Gusssin; and Beth Bate. 2013: "Tracer" by Melanie Manchot Selected by: Alice Sharp of Invisible Dust; Judith King of Arts and Heritage; artist Matt Stokes; and Beth Bate. Great North Run The Great North Run (branded
540-755: The city centre and down the Chester Road . After entering Trafford it leaves this road and passes Old Trafford stadium . The course loops around Trafford Park , passing the Coronation Street set and the Imperial War Museum North . It then returns to Manchester city centre along the Chester Road, finishing by the Beetham Tower in Deansgate . The half marathon course consists of the 10k course with
570-496: The four deaths from 2005 began on Monday 5 June 2006 at Gateshead Council Chambers. In subsequent events, more emergency service personnel were brought in to ensure there was adequate cover. In spite of increased medical provision at the 2006 race, a man in his twenties died. 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
600-471: 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. In 2014, the event had 41,615 finishers, making it the largest half-marathon in the world as certified by Guinness World Records in 2016. For the first nine races, eight of them were held in June. Since 1990,
630-561: The number of participants had risen to 54,000. For the first year it was advertised as a local fun run; nearly thirty years on it has become one of the biggest running events in the world, and the biggest in the UK. Only the Great Manchester Run and London Marathon come close to attracting similar numbers of athletes each year. The 1992 edition of the race incorporated the 1st IAAF World Half Marathon Championships . The event also has junior and mini races attached with these being run
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#1732855930220660-557: The participants. 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,
690-458: The race has instead been held in the autumn, usually in September but occasionally in October. Since 1990, the earliest date the race has been held on is 7 September (2014) and the latest is 22 October (2000). Bupa was the title partner of the Great North Run from the early 1990s until 2014, one of Britain's longest ever sports sponsorship agreements. In 2015 Morrisons announced their sponsorship of
720-451: The race in exactly 1 hour, while Mary Keitany completed in 1:05:39 seconds - surpassing the previous course record of 1:05:40 by 1 second, a record held by Paula Radcliffe . Tracey Cramond, who was raising money for Butterwick Hospices, was the 1 millionth person to complete the run, stating she was "gobsmacked" and that it was her "moment of fame". The Great North Run was the first International Athletics Association Event (IAAF) event in
750-505: The route turns off the A184 and heads north-east towards South Shields down the A194 (Leam Lane). 2.5 miles (4.0 km) later, the route reaches the southern side of Jarrow and it turns east down the A1300 (John Reid Road). The route passes through the south of South Shields (through Harton and Marsden ) until it reaches the seafront just over 3.5 miles (5.6 km) later, where it turns north up
780-464: The title in the men's race. Unusual for a distance dominated by African runners, the top three finishers in the men's race (which also included Ukrainian Serhiy Lebid and Sweden 's Mustafa Mohamed ) were all European competitors. The race was upgraded to IAAF Gold Label Road Race status and the 2009 edition was expanded to include the Great City Games . Around 33,000 runners signed up for
810-509: The women's event while Kenyan Micah Kogo won the men's, beating the UK all-comers' record by four seconds with a finishing time of 27:25 minutes. Celebrity participants included Kelly Holmes , Amir Khan and members of the cast of Coronation Street . The following year saw almost 25,000 runners complete the course. Pavey successfully defended her title at the event while Rose Cheruiyot and Bezunesh Bekele took second and third place respectively. Austrian Günther Weidlinger took
840-491: The world to reach such a milestone. In 2015 a 58 year old male runner died. The 2020 Great North Run was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The 2022 event cancelled its Junior and Mini events due to the death of Elizabeth II . Eddie Howe started the 2023 Great North Run for the 60,000 participants. The race was Mo Farah 's last ever before his retirement. The 2024 Great North Run took place on 8th September and
870-425: 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 . In 2013 the 33rd Great North Run had 56000 participants, most of whom were raising money for charity. The elite races had Olympic Gold Medalists and World Champion long-distance runners participating including in the men's race, Mo Farah , Kenenisa Bekele and
900-424: Was started by Olympic Silver Medalist Kieran Reilly . A 29 year old male runner died after collapsing during the race. Key: Course record Course record Great Manchester Run The Great Manchester Run is an annual run through Greater Manchester (namely Manchester , Trafford and Salford ). It has consisted of a 10k run since it was established in 2003, and
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