Great North Run 2022 times: When will the race start and when should racers be at the start area?

For thousands of runners and their families, the big day is nearly here. This year the Great North Run makes a return to its traditional route between Newcastle and South Shields.

It isn’t long until the streets are closed, charity stalls are lining the route and families are picking their top spots to watch loved once race past, but what are the times to keep an eye on throughout the day? Here’s all you need to know.

What time should runners be at the start area for the Great North Run?

The event site at Newcastle’s Town Moor opens at 8am on race day for runners and assembly areas can be accessed from this same time.

Assembly areas for those with orange and white numbers close at 10:35am and the area for those with green numbers closes at 10:55.

Baggage buses leave the site at 10:15 for orange and white numbers and 11am for those with green numbers.

What time does the Great North Run start?

This all depends on which race is your focus. The first start is for the elite wheelchair group who start on the A167 at 10:15am.

Following this, the elite women group will start at 10:20 with visually impaired runners scheduled to start at 10:22am.

The elite men group will start at the front of the masses, although they will share a starting time in keeping with the traditions of the event. This will be at 10:45am.

BBC coverage of the day starts at 10am.

When will the Red Arrows fly over the great North Run?

The Red Arrows have a full schedule for the day, but they are scheduled to make their famous flypast over the Tyne Bridge and the mass of runners on it at 11am. This will be 15 minutes after the start of the race.

The second appearance from the RAF group will come at the end of the route in South Shields, where the Red Arrows will perform a full display at 1:45pm.

When will runners start approaching the end of the Great North Run?

In recent years the first elite athletes have finished the race in around an hour, meaning the first competitors should enter the final stretch at South Shields by around 11:15am.