Charity Participants Raise £54M In Great Run Events

CHARITY fundraisers taking part in Great Run events have raised the incredible sum of almost £54million for good causes in 2016, it has been revealed.

Research by The Great Run Company shows that participants in the 23 Great Run events across the UK have raised an estimated £53,945,246 for hundreds of charities over the last 12 months.

A staggering £26,332,773 alone was raised in the flagship Great North Run between Newcastle and South Shields, the world's biggest half marathon with 57,000 entrants.

With more than 200,000 finishers across the range of events from Glasgow to Portsmouth, almost a third of participants were raising money for charity, with the most popular amount raised by runners around £300.

The total was unveiled by the Great Run Company at the St Mary's Heritage Centre in Gateshead, a short distance from the iconic Tyne Bridge, which participants cross during the Great North Run.

The amount was based on an estimate following post-event questionnaires across the events.

Representatives from eight invited charities benefiting from funds raised by Great Run participants were in attendance at the event.

The figure is expected to be even higher in 2017 with the addition of two new marathons in Stirling and Birmingham, alongside a range of events in Aberdeen and the introduction of a half marathon in Manchester.

Mark Hollinshead, Great Run Company group chief executive, said: “Charity participants are the lifeblood of our events and we're delighted to see such a magnificent amount of money raised for good causes in 2016.

“It is heartening to see that there is so much goodwill among our running community and it has been humbling to meet some of the charities to learn first hand how they are putting those funds to good use.”