Olympic hero Greg Rutherford takes a leap down memory lane to launch 15th Great Manchester Run

Olympic gold medallist Greg Rutherford was joined by runners from all walks of life to celebrate 15 years of the Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run, which returns to the city centre on Sunday, May 28.

They celebrated the milestone year armed with memorabilia ranging from medals to photographs, dating back to the first event in 2003.

The Great Manchester Run was first staged as a legacy event following the Commonwealth Games, held in Manchester in 2002, and has grown to be the largest of its kind in Europe.

Attracting some of the world’s finest distance runners, Haile Gebrselassie, Tirunesh Dibaba, Kenenisa Bekele, Wilson Kipsang and Great Britain’s Jo Pavey have all graced the streets of Manchester.

Today, Greg – himself a multiple winner in the long jump at the Great CityGames Manchester street athletics event which takes place on the same weekend – returned to the city to celebrate the latest milestone in the history of the event.

Ella Chadwick, from Rochdale, was joined by her mum Karen Hughes, both planning to take part in the event, as Ella looks forward to the Simplyhealth Junior Great Manchester Run. Ella, nine, has been a patient at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital all of her life after she was born with Congenital Nephrotic Syndrome, a rare illness which causes kidney failure.

She received a life-saving kidney from her grandmother in May 2014. Even after her transplant, Ella suffered from mobility problems and had to learn how to support herself on her feet.

Also in attendance were charity fundraisers supporting The Christie, Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity and the Kirsty Club, the charity launched by Kirsty Howard, who took part in every Junior Great Manchester Run before her death in 2015 at the age of 20.