Hi-tech team-up to help improve Great North Run
THE organisers of the Great North Run have teamed up with a technology company backed by some of the world’s top sports stars in a bid to shake up its application process.
Newcastle-based The Great Run Company will work with Let’s Do This, a Silicon Valley-backed booking platform that will take over the ballot system for the popular half marathon.
The link-up comes as the Great Run Company seeks to bounce back from a period when it had to cancel many events, though it did manage to stage this year’s Great North Run on an altered course.
Let’s Do This - whose investors include Usain Bolt, Serena Williams and Paula Radcliffe - will handle an estimated 250,000 participants taking part in the Great North Run and the company’s other races around the country. The company, which has bases in London and California, hopes to improve Great Run’s entry systems and get more people to enter events.
Paul Foster, CEO at the Great Run Company, said: “The pandemic put individual health and wellbeing top of mind. The significant increase in signups for active experiences in 2022 shows that people are keen to continue investing in themselves in a positive way. Let’s Do This has unrivalled data and insights on how participants search, engage and ultimately convert. Together we’re planning to make sure the mass participation industry continues to play a pivotal role in getting the nation, fitter, healthier and more motivated.
“Like us they have a firm belief in the power of participation sports to transform lives and communities, and that by delivering world class customer experiences, this power is amplified.”
Let’s Do This co-founder Sam Browne said: “Our mission at Let’s Do This is to use the power of online to get people offline, off their sofas, and making moments that matter by having incredible experiences in real life together. We put people first, solving consumer problems and making people happy as a result. We can only achieve this by working closely with amazing partners who share this vision, partnering with the legendary Great Run Company is the ultimate expression of this and we are thrilled!”