AJ Bell Great North Run: Course, Route Profile & Map

Course & Elevation

You start on the central motorway in the middle of Newcastle, where the traditional "Oggy Oggy Oggy!" chant echoes through the underpasses of the opening kilometres. The road drops gently through the city until the Tyne Bridge arrives at kilometre 2.8 – the emotional heart of the race, with the Red Arrows roaring overhead in the morning. On the south bank the road kicks up noticeably into Gateshead, and the course rolls uphill along the Felling Bypass to its highest point around kilometre 8.

From there it trends gently downhill for a long stretch along Leam Lane through Jarrow, until the course's best-known test begins at kilometre 14: John Reid Road, a roughly five-kilometre undulating drag climbing into South Shields. Between miles 8 and 12 this is where most runners first lose their rhythm – even as spectators in pinch points like The Nook generate stadium-level noise.

At kilometre 19 the North Sea comes into view and the road plunges down the Marsden bank to the coast; the final mile and a bit runs flat along the Coast Road beside the water to the finish on the South Shields sea front. What carries it all is the people: since Brendan Foster founded the race in 1981, tens of thousands have run it for charity, and families line the route handing out orange slices, jelly babies and bottles of water – the whole North East comes out for this one.

Pacing Strategy

The first three kilometres run downhill and the adrenaline of 60,000 starters pushes you along – the classic trap at this race is a too-fast opening. Deliberately hold back through the underpasses and across the Tyne Bridge, and expect the pull up into Gateshead on the far side to be the first real check on your pacing.

The Great North Run is decided on John Reid Road: the undulating drag between kilometres 14 and 19 arrives exactly when your legs are tired from the downhill-leaning middle section. Set up your race so you can still shape the pace here rather than merely survive it – on this profile, even effort beats even splits.

The reward at the top is the first view of the sea, but treat the steep Marsden descent at kilometre 19 with respect: hammer it and your quads will tie up on the finishing straight. The Coast Road is exposed, too – a North Sea headwind can slow the final kilometre noticeably. Roll down under control, then commit to the flat run along the sea front.

Training plan for AJ Bell Great North Run: 12-week build

As an age-group runner, expect a finishing time between roughly 1:45 and 3 hours. The effort is purely aerobic but rhythmic: with 143 metres of climbing and mostly gentle gradients this is no hill race, yet the rollers are spread so that hardly a kilometre is truly level – your pacing has to breathe with the profile.

The race-deciding phase is the long John Reid Road drag in the final third. Prepare for it with progressive long runs that place their fastest kilometres at the end, and run goal-pace blocks deliberately on tired legs. Short hill repeats and steady runs over rolling terrain turn the constant rhythm changes into a habit rather than a disruption.

Do not underestimate the downhill running either: the falling start in Newcastle and the Marsden descent just before the finish take a real toll on unprepared quads. Build brisk downhill segments into your long runs. And because the finale sits open on the North Sea coast, it pays to run some tempo sessions in the wind and to test your race kit in it.

A mid-September date puts the decisive training weeks in high summer: move long runs to the morning and practise drinking on the move. With a 60,000-runner start you will also stand in your pen far longer than you are used to – rehearse the early alarm, the waiting and the late start on your longest training day.