Organisers announce a 78-day campaign taking runners through to what would have been the 40th edition Great North Run race date

The Great North Run cancellation means tens of thousands of participants will no longer be able to come together to run the famous 13.1-mile route on September 13, so organisers have launched Great North Run Reimagined – a campaign created to ensure that runners and charities can still mark the occasion.

The Great North Run Reimagined campaign will feature Great North Run Solo and the ‘Official’ Virtual Great North Run, for which further details will be revealed over the coming weeks.

More than £25m is raised for charity each year by participants taking on the Great North Run and with this new campaign, organisers are hopeful that a significant fundraising total can still be achieved.

A run for every year

Great North Run Solo starts on June 28, which is the birthday of the Great North Run, and ends on September 13, which is the day the 40th Great North Run was originally scheduled to take place.

The challenge is to complete 40 runs over the 78 days between June 28 and September 13 – a run for each year of the Great North Run. There is also a junior challenge available for younger runners.

READ MORE: Great North Run cancelled for 2020

Participants can run at any pace and over any distance that is comfortable. Every runner who completes a minimum of 40 runs will receive a special edition Great North Run Solo medal and digital certificate.

The challenge costs £10 to join, with all profits going to the NHS Charities Together COVID-19 Urgent Appeal.

For those who like a target distance, there are also Bronze (100 miles +), Silver (200 miles +) or Gold (300 miles +) challenges to aim for and every runner completing those distances over the 40 runs will receive recognition of their achievement.

Everyone who joins Great North Run Solo is encouraged to fundraise for a Great North Run charity which otherwise would miss out this year.

Click here to join the challenge and find out more.