Great North Run

Great North Run
Date	September annually (occasionally October)
Location	Newcastle upon Tyne to South Shields, England, UK
Event type	Road
Distance	Half marathon
Primary sponsor	AJ Bell
Established	1981
Course records	Men: Martin Mathathi 58:56 Women: Brigid Kosgei 1:04:28
Official site	Great North Run

The Great North Run (branded 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.^[1] 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, 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 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^[2] 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.^[3]