60,000 on Tyneside to celebrate Queen
AN EMOTIONAL day on Tyneside saw 60,000 runners celebrate the Queen’s life and the achievements of elite athletes and fun runners alike.
The Great North Run, the world’s biggest half marathon, paid tribute before completing the course from Newcastle to South Shields yesterday. An estimated £25million was raised for charity and runners observed a moment of silence and sang God Save the King. Race founder Brendan Foster said: ‘We felt it was in tune with what would have been the Queen’s wishes, people coming together as a community, to be the best version of themselves and to raise money for charities.’ Crowds turned out in force to pay their respects, with Union flags prominent. Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo won the men’s race, Hellen Obiri retained the women’s title and David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the wheelchair events.