“We started the Great North Run in 1981 because we were runners – and if you’re a runner you want everybody to run.” – Brendan Foster, Chairman & Founder The Great Run Company is the UK’s biggest mass participation sport business. Every year we inspire over 250,000 people to take part in our events in cities all over the country accompanied by world class athletes. Since our inception, over 4 million adults and 600,000 children have crossed our finish lines raising £775 million for charity. Today our participants are part of a year-round community running network, supported by 10,000 volunteers, cheered on by over 600,000 spectators and watched live on television by an audience of over 8 million viewers.