00:00There was fog on the tie-in in early September, as around 60,000 runners headed to Newcastle
00:07for the 2024 Great North Run. Amongst the crowd, several big names were lined up at
00:12the start, all eager to get going. They spoke about why the run meant so much to them, and
00:19how their preparations had been so far.
00:21I'm quite nervous this morning, but you know, it's fantastic, isn't it? People are starting
00:27to gather now. The Great North Run is the jewel in our crown as a region, and you can
00:31just feel the anticipation and the excitement right across the region, and it's lovely.
00:36We've called ourselves Bobby's Team. We've done it for three years now, and it's a group
00:40of writers, mostly, who love Bobby, knew Bobby, worked with Bobby, and kind of want to give
00:47something back to him. I hope there were times in Bobby's career when he was hammered by
00:51the media. I hope he would kind of be tickled by the idea of football writers running in
00:55kind of football shirts in his own.
00:58This is my favourite race. I think it's wonderful. This is the very first race I ever did when
01:02I started running, and that was in 2006. And when I did that, I trained with my two little
01:08kids, who were two and six months old at the time, in a buggy, pushed them along the river
01:13as I trained. And I've come here today. I was supposed to be running it, but I broke
01:17my ankle. So I've come here anyway, because my daughter, who was two at the time when
01:21I first started training, is running it. So I've come to cheer her on.
01:24It's just part of what makes this region great, what makes this city great. If you ask people
01:29what is Newcastle, you'll get three of the four shame answers. Obviously, Newcastle United,
01:34the Tyne Bridge, and then, of course, the Great North Road. It's just an institution
01:39of this city and this great region. And it's great to be part of such a fantastic community.
01:44So I've been training from about May. I started... It's when we're filming Dragon's Dead, actually,
01:49in Manchester. I've got a brilliant running coach in Manchester. So he was training with
01:53me three mornings a week. But the problem is, we start... I'm in hair and make-up for
01:58seven o'clock in the morning, which means it's generally about half past five we would
02:01meet and try and run beforehand. So, yeah, it was a bit of dedication, I can tell you.
02:07This year's official starter was Olympic silver medallist Ciarán Reilly from Gateshead.
02:12If you look at the people that's done this before, to be added to that list is special.
02:16I didn't expect to get this opportunity, so I'm absolutely buzzing to be here. I've been
02:20following up Eddie Howe. He's quite sick. Hopefully he sees it and I'll get in to see
02:24the boys. It was actually only a couple of weeks ago at a Newcastle game. I met Sir Brendan
02:28Foster. We got talking about doing this and just got it all put into work super quick.
02:33I mean, we managed to film all the promo and everything with just a couple of days' notice.
02:38Yeah, I've been looking forward to it ever since. My mum's running today, so I'm excited
02:42to cheer her on. It's going to be a good day.
02:45Later on, down at the coast, the masses rounded the final corner before the last mile, where
02:50they could taste the success as the crowds lining the road cheered them on. The atmosphere,
02:55despite the weather, was uplifting and drove the runners on to the finish.
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