Great Run is a series of road running events around the United Kingdom, which includes the Great North Run. Great Run is a part of The Great Run Company, which was launched by retired athlete Brendan Foster.[1] The group specialises in road running events, from a 5k up to a marathon.

Bupa was title partner of the Great Run Series for 18 years, one of Britain’s longest ever sports sponsorship agreements, which ended in 2014. Morrisons took over sponsorship of this series of events in 2015.[2] In 2017, Simplyhealth became title sponsor of the Great Run series of events [3] and following the expiry of the sponsorship, ExpressTest by Cignpost sponsored the 2021 events, and AJ Bell took over in 2023 as part of a five-year deal.[4]

In the early 2000s, the series expanded beyond the UK and established Great Run races in the Republic of Ireland, Ethiopia and Australia.

Current list of events

Event nameLocationDistanceFounded
Great Edinburgh Winter RunHolyrood Park, Edinburgh5K2005
Great Edinburgh XCountry9K, 4K
Great Ireland RunPhoenix Park, Dublin10K2003
Great Edinburgh RunEdinburgh city centre10 Miles1993
Great Birmingham 10KBirmingham city centre10K2015
Great Bristol 10KBristol city centre10K2008
Great Manchester RunManchester city centreHalf Marathon, 10K2003
Great Women's 10KGlasgow10K
Great North 10KGateshead10K2009
Great Tees 10KStockton10K2018
Great Newham London RunQueen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London10K2015
Great Newham London Family Run2K
Great Newham London Marathon Relay10.54K[a]
Great Yorkshire RunHarrogate10K2007
Great Aberdeen RunAberdeenHalf Marathon, 10K2017
Great North 5KQuayside, Newcastle upon Tyne/Gateshead5K
Great North RunNewcastle upon Tyne-Gateshead-South ShieldsHalf Marathon1981
Great Bristol Half MarathonBristol city centreHalf Marathon1989
Great Scottish RunGlasgow city centreHalf Marathon, 10K1991
Great Birmingham RunBirmingham city centreHalf Marathon, 10K2008
Great East RunIpswich city centreHalf Marathon2017
Great South 5kSouthsea, Portsmouth5K
Great South Run10 Miles1990
Great Ethiopian RunAddis Ababa10K2001
  1. ^ per person, in teams of four.

Former events

See also

References

  1. ^ IAAF back Nova International in street racing initiative. Great Run (2009-05-18). Retrieved on 2009-10-25.
  2. ^ "Great South Run loses main sponsor Morrisons". www.portsmouth.co.uk
  3. ^ "Simplyhealth steps in as Great North Run lead sponsor". BBC News. 6 January 2017.
  4. ^ "AJ Bell Announced as New Title Partner of the Great Run Series". 4 January 2023.