Great North Run falls victim to COVID crisis
The 2020 Great North Run has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis, organisers have confirmed.
The famous half-marathon – which sees tens of thousands of runners from all over the world take on the course from Newcastle to the seafront at South Shields – will now celebrate its landmark 40th staging next year.
Runners who had a place in this year’s event will be given the option to roll it over to the next Great North Run, currently scheduled for Sunday, September 12, 2021, or get a refund of their entry fee.
The Junior and Mini Great North Run and the Great North 5KM, which traditionally take place on the Saturday before the Great North Run, have also been cancelled.
Places for the popular children’s event are always in high demand, so those who successfully secured a place in 2020 will be given a priority entry window in 2021 to make sure they don’t miss out.
Paul Foster, chief executive of The Great Run Company: “We’re sorry that we’ve had to cancel the Great North Run.
“We haven’t taken the decision lightly.
“The event raises more than £25million for charity, and is an important day in the North East calendar.
“Over the past few months we worked hard to try and find a way to stage the Great North Run while observing social distancing rules, and most importantly, not impacting on our local NHS.
“We also looked at holding the Great North Run later in the year.
“However, as things stand, and even as the situation improves, it’s not going to be possible to meet these goals with any certainty, and so we have concluded that the best course of action is to cancel.”
Mr Foster added: “I’d like to thank our partners at Newcastle, Gateshead and South Tyneside Councils, and especially our medical teams working in North East NHS Trusts, for their support in trying to find a way to stage the Great North Run this year.”
“Despite not being able to stage the event as planned, we are exploring ways to mark the occasion and hope to be able to share our plans soon.”