Countdown to the great north run

Wondering just how much time until the start of the 2025 Great North Run?

... well wonder no more - the count down timer below shows you exactly how much (or how little) time you have left to get in your training.


You're welcome.

363
Days
:
 
21
Hours
:
 
27
Minutes
:
 
22
Seconds

THE RACE HAS ALREADY STARTED!

 

Will you be ready?

The Great North Run Half-Marathon

The following information details everything you need to know about the largest half marathon in the world. 60,000 runners took part in the 2024 event.

  • The 2025 Great North Run date is Sunday 7th September
  • The 2025 Great North Run half-marathon start time is 10:45am (British Summer Time - clocks don't change to Greenwich Mean Time until the end of October)
  • The Junior and Mini Great North Run takes place the day before on Saturday 6th September


How long is the Great North Run?

As it is a half marathon race, it has a standard competition distance of 13.1 miles or if you prefer metric, that's 21.1 km

If you want to be absolutely precise to the nearest 4 decimal places, then it's:

Miles

Km

13.1094

21.0975

As with all officially UKA licensed road races the distance of the course has been measured and certified by the Association of UK Course Measurers

GNR Course Map

Want to know what route the great north run follows?

Take a look at the official course map below. There also also a map of the start and a video of the finish area.

GNR-CourseMap

GNR-StartArea

Video of the entire GNR Course

This time-lapse video shows the entire route of the the Great North Run.

How to enter GNR

The 2024 Great North Run is likely to reach capacity quickly as it is a very popular race.  

Usually there is a public ballot in January that you can enter from September of the previous year. 

Charity Places

Even if you miss out on a ballot place. It may still be possible for you to get a charity place

This will mean that you will have to commit to raising a set amount (about £500 usually) for the charity of course. Depending on the charity, they may also ask that you cover the entry fee (£50).


Getting To The Start

Because of road closures that are in place for the race, the best way to get to the start is to use public transport.

The nearest station to the start is Haymarket in Newcastle city centre. The start area is approximately a 15 minute walk away.

The closest station to the finish area is South Shields Interchange. Again this is approximately a 15 minute walk away.

Due to the size of expected crowds extra trains are usually scheduled for race day. But there are usually large crowds and lengthy queues too, and so it's advisable to allow extra travel time

Advice for GNR Spectators

If any of your family or friends intend to come along to the great north run to support you. They need to be prepared for huge crowds and only being able to get around slowly, due to stations and public transport being very busy. 

Because of the problems and delays in moving around the course, I'd recommend that spectators choose one spot and stay there. As it's very likely that they will miss you, if they move around from place to place to try and get more than one glimpse. 

In fact due to the number of runners that take part - there's a very good chance that they will miss you any way. It may be a better experience for them to watch the race on TV.

Watching on TV

From about 09:30 the BBC traditionally have a special programme that covers the whole race live. With stories about ordinary runners and charity fundraisers sprinkled amongst the coverage of the top class international athletes battling for the win. There's usually highlights available later via the red button too. 

Watching TV could give your supporters a better chance of actually spotting you amongst the throng of other runners. Especially if they have a reasonable idea of your finish time and can watch the finish line via the red button/i-player later. 

Did you find this information useful? Don't miss out on getting more valuable information and running/training advice - sign-up to the Running Directions newsletter if you haven't done so already.

About the author 

Coach D

Hi, I'm Dave. I'm a UK Athletics qualified and licensed Coach in Running Fitness (CiRF), Endurance Event Group Coach and Certified Running Technique Coach. I coach groups and individuals of all abilities both online and in person.

I particularly enjoy coaching beginner and improver runners in the 40+ age range.

I'm also a regular recreational runner and I've been competing in races from 5k to marathon distance for over 30 years.

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The Able Runner


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