Great North Run to celebrate 'heroes of the pandemic' on its 40th anniversary

The Great North Run will honour those who went above and beyond to help their communities during the pandemic this year.

Their 'Great North Thank You' campaign will recognise 14 inspirational individuals from around the region with a large-scale visual installation along the course at this year’s event. 

Organisations including care homes, schools and supermarkets will be asked to nominate key workers who deserve recognition for their efforts. 

Members of the public will also have the chance to nominate local sports coaches who’ve kept kids active and engaged during such a disruptive time in their lives. 

For each mile of the run, a large-scale billboard, featuring a captivating illustration, will celebrate these heroes’ stories. 

Founder Sir Brendan Foster said “As we celebrate 40 incredible years of fundraising, individual endurance and collective triumph we also wanted to take the opportunity to recognise the part we all played in tackling the COVID-19 virus over the last 18 months. 

“The Great North Run has always been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Over the last 15 months we’ve seen examples of individuals doing just that time and time again. 

 The 40th Great North Run will take place on Sunday 12 September. General entry places are closed, but there are a small number of charity places still available. 

You can find out more about the campaign here.