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.

Great Run Logo

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

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Event name Location Distance Founded
Great Edinburgh Winter Run   Holyrood Park, Edinburgh 5K 2005
Great Edinburgh XCountry 9K, 4K
Great Ireland Run   Phoenix Park, Dublin 10K 2003
Great Edinburgh Run   Edinburgh city centre 10 Miles 1993
Great Birmingham 10K   Birmingham city centre 10K 2015
Great Bristol 10K   Bristol city centre 10K 2008
Great Manchester Run   Manchester city centre 10K 2003
Great Women's 10K   Glasgow 10K
Great North 10K   Gateshead 10K 2009
Great Tees 10K   Stockton 10K 2018
Great Newham London Run   Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London 10K 2015
Great Newham London Family Run 2K
Great Newham London Marathon Relay 10.54K[a]
Great Yorkshire Run   Harrogate 10K 2007
Great Aberdeen Run   Aberdeen Half Marathon, 10K 2017
Great North 5K   Quayside, Newcastle upon Tyne/Gateshead 5K
Great North Run   Newcastle upon Tyne-Gateshead-South Shields Half Marathon 1981
Great Bristol Half Marathon   Bristol city centre Half Marathon 1989
Great Scottish Run   Glasgow city centre Half Marathon, 10K 1991
Great Birmingham Run   Birmingham city centre Half Marathon, 10K 2008
Great East Run   Ipswich city centre Half Marathon 2017
Great South 5k   Southsea, Portsmouth 5K
Great South Run 10 Miles 1990
Great Ethiopian Run   Addis Ababa 10K 2001
  1. ^ per person, in teams of four.

Former events

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ IAAF back Nova International in street racing initiative[permanent dead link]. 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.
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