The Great North Run heroes...

Sir Mo Farah may have crossed the line first, but it was good causes once again that were the real winners of the Great North Run.

While football may divide communities, this sporting extravaganza unites them every year.

And the millions made for charity only goes to make our communities stronger again.

The event has grown into a huge sporting gathering, and a far cry from its relatively humble beginnings back in 1981.

Then there were only 12,000 taking part, and it still seemed massive.

Today it takes up a whole weekend with 57,000 taking part in the main event, but many thousands involved in the Junior Great North Run and other supporting events.

The eyes of the world are trained upon our region, with stars like Sir Mo and a whole host of famous faces running the 13.1 miles from Newcastle to South Shields or showing off their skills on the track and field events.

And those eyes get to see the North East at its best.

But the bigger the Great North Run gets, the more the ordinary people doing extraordinary things shine.

People go to extraordinary lengths to raise money and a smile. Where else can you see a man dressed as a Rubik’s cube running 13.1 miles for charity?

In our community many took part to raise money for their chosen charities.

Catherine Purdy and Len Christopher, in his 31st Great North Run, were running for charity ... and fun.

Len said: “I always try to do my bit for charity too, I’ve raised about £100 this time.” They were not alone. Every runner has a story to tell and no matter where they finished, they’re all winners in our eyes.

Well done!