Hundreds of youngsters flocked to Newcastle’s Quayside today to take part in the Junior and Mini Great North Runs.
It was a beautifully sunny autumn day down by the Tyne for the event, with young runners raring to go as families and friends cheered on from the side-lines. There was a fantastic atmosphere in the city for the action-packed event as the runners got warmed up ready for the race this morning.
The 4km Junior run is for children aged between nine and 16, while the Mini event is 1.2km and open to kids aged three to eight. Originally due to take place in September, the races were postponed following the news of the Queen ’s death.
READ MORE: Hundreds of runners take part in the Great North 5k on Newcastle's Quayside
The runs began by crossing the Swing Bridge, with Junior runners doing an out-and-back section towards the Redheugh Bridge, before re-joining the Mini route that headed along the Gateshead Quayside, past the Sage Gateshead and the Baltic. All runners then ran across the Millennium Bridge before their big finish near the Law Courts.
The event comes almost a month after the adult Great North Run, undoubtedly one of the biggest events in the region which sees around 60,000 runners take on the half marathon between Newcastle and South Shields. The Great North 5k also took place on Friday evening, with a stunning rainbow greeting runners as they crossed the finish line.
Among those taking part in today's races was Caroline Topley, 37, who ran the Mini Great North Run with her five-year-old daughter May. They ran together to raise money for the Children’s Heart Unit at the Freeman Hospital, where May had a heart transplant when she was just 18 months old.
Caroline said: "They’re just a brilliant charity. They looked after us as a family, not just after May. They did little things for us as parents when she was really poorly and they saved her life." May said of the run: "It was easy, I’m going to do it again."
Andrew Graham, 39, and his wife Andrea, 38, also ran the Mini run with their four children - eight-year-old Luca, six-year-old Theo, four-year-old Nate and one-year-old Cole. The family were running to raise funds for Heel & Toe Children’s Charity in County Durham.
Andrew said his son Theo, who has Prada-Willi syndrome, has used Heel & Toe Children’s Charity for a few years now. He said: They’re great with him. They have had a tough time with Covid and we are supporting them any way we can.
"It’s our third time doing the event," he added. "This is the first time we have only had one push chair!"
Kirsty Hutton, 33, from Gateshead, is a fundraiser for Heel & Toe who was at the Quayside today, and explained: "We have 207 people in total running today. We’re going to raise around £10,000. This is one of the biggest events for us.
"We lost over £300,000 due to Covid, we were relying on virtual events," Kirsty added. "But we have got all of our events back up and running. It’s absolutely amazing and it’s lovely to see so many T-shirts."
Chloe Hammond, an ambassador for the charity from New Brancepeth, was there to hand out sweets to children at the finish line. The 22-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, said: "I have been an ambassador since 2018 but I’ve attended the charity since I was eight years old.
"Without the charity myself and other service users would get a lot less regular therapy. It’s important to raise money for Heel & Toe because we have no Government funding, all of the donations we receive really help."
The event unveiled new official mascot Tyney the Tortoise, “a true Geordie at heart” inspired by the iconic Tyne bridge. The Junior and Mini Great North Run will be back on Saturday September 9 2023.
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