Great North Run organisers announce the eilte athletes fighting for the number 1 spot
The Great North Run has unveiled the line-up for this year's elite field.
The majority of the 60,000 runners taking part in September’s half marathon will be everyday runners hoping to push for the best time possible.
However, a series of the world’s best athletes will also be heading to the North East to fight for the number one spot at the world’s largest half marathon.
This year’s Great North Run will take place on Sunday, September 7.
There are several highlights to this year’s elite field, including British hopeful and 2021 Great North Run Champion, Marc Scott competing against defending Great North Run champion Abel Kipchumba of Kenya.
Kipchumba has recorded an incredible half marathon time of 58:07 in the past.
In the women’s event, Scot Eilish McColgan will come head to head with Kenyan Sheila Chepkiru who won the 2024 edition of the New York City Marathon last year.
This will be McColgan’s second Great North Run after her debut at the event last year.
The other key names in the mens’s field include 2024 London Marathon winner Alex Mutiso and Belgian Bashir Abdi, who won silver in the 2024 Olympic Marathon event as well as bronze in the previous games.
The women’s field will also include Japanese star Kaede Kawamura and four time world champion Vivian Cheruiyot, who usually specialises in distances between 5,000m and 10,000m.
On the elite wheelchair side of things, last year’s runner-up Sean Frame will face off agains Commonwealth medallist Simon Lawson and Rafa Botello of Spain, who has previously won a World Championship gold medal. In the Women’s race world championship silver medalist Mel Nicholls of Worcester awill push for her first Great North Run win.