GREAT NORTH RUN

ROAD - TOWN - FLAT

An astonishing 57,000 people took part in this race last year, and for all Brendan Foster’s achievements on the track and in the commentary box, the Great North Run may be his chief legacy, as he launched the event in 1981. Much of the route is prosaic but the final mile, along the coast road in South Shields, will live long in any runner’s memory. Massive crowds turn out year after year to roar the competitors to glory. Newcastle, September 9, greatrun.org