‘EMPEROR’ HAILE GEBRSELASSIE SALUTED AT BUPA 30TH GREAT NORTH RUN

Bupa Great North Run founder, Brendan Foster, has hailed the Bupa 30th Great North Run weekend as the “best ever”, as the last runner crossed the line at South Shields on Sunday afternoon, watched by hundreds of thousands of people who lined the 13.1 mile route.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the tribute paid to Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, widely recognised as the worlds greatest ever distance runner. He was presented with a commemorative plaque on the finish line to mark his incredible career achievements by Foster as the Red Arrows flew over in a special salute to the “Emperor.” “It was a fantastic moment and one that will stay with me for the rest of my days,” said Foster. “Haile, the 30th Great North Run, the Red Arrows overhead and the thousands of spectators at the finish line was a perfect combination. You could tell by Haile’s reaction that it was a special moment in his long and illustrious career.” An emotional Gebrselassie said “ I feel my career is complete. This was important and special for me and a great day in my life.” Earlier in the day Gebrselassie had fulfilled his ambition and triumphed in the men’s race posting a time of 59.33, followed by Kenya’s Kiplimo Kimutai who finished in second place with a time of 61:23. Jaouad Gharib from Morocco finished third. Gabreselassie continued, “It’s a race I have always wanted to take part in. It has taken me many years to keep my promise to be here and I can now really understand why the Great North Run is so special” Berhane Adere made it an Ethiopian double taking the women’s title in 68:49, second was Ana Dulce Felix of Portugal and Marissa Barros also from Portugal came home in third place in 69:09. In the wheelchair races impressive performances were posted by winners David Weir took the men’s title in 44:49 and Shelly Woods won the women’s contest in 52:59 . Some of the most memorable images from the Bupa 30th Great North Run were provided by the supporting cast of a record 39,520 runners of all abilities who trailed in behind the elites. Between them, they raised an estimated £12 million for hundreds of different causes, after being set on their way by TV personalities, Ant and Dec. The last person to cross the start line, Irish running legend and twice winner of the Bupa Great North Run, Sonia O’Sullivan, managed to overtake 25,313 fellow competitors in her charity fundraising effort for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. The first celebrity runner home was Nell McAndrew, running for Alzheimer’s Society in a superb time of 1:26:30. Also taking part was last years X Factor winner Joe McElderry who finished in a time of 1:39:21 for Teenage Cancer Trust. Singer / songwriter Ellie Goulding finished in a time of 1:50:40 narrowly beating BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James who finished in 2:08:16. Greg’s BBC Radio 1 DJ colleague Scott Mills finished in a very respectable 2:31:00. The Bupa 30th Great North Run was preceded on Saturday by the junior and mini events, where 5,000 children from the ages of 3-16 took part on the NewcastleGateshead Quayside. Alongside the children, the Bupa Great North CityGames saw England defeat Australia 5-4 in a closely fought contest on the banks of the River Tyne, in the athletics equivalent of the ‘Ashes’. This year’s Bupa Great North Run has kicked off a year of celebrations to mark the 30 year history and the changing face of the race. For more details visit www.greatnorthrun30.org Next year’s event will take place on Sunday 18 September. Ends Pictures from North News. For further information: nicola.hedley@nova-international.com David Hart - 07771 983688 Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great North Run is brought to you event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Great North Run, the world’s largest half marathon with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run Celebrating the 30th staging of the Bupa Great North Run, this major new exhibition explores this enormously popular event. In The Long Run… 30 Years of the Great North Run looks at the significant role this event has played in reflecting and shaping the region's cultural identity. As well as the well known stories of elite runners, In The Long Run will also explore the huge organisational effort behind the Bupa Great North Run, documenting the event’s community spirit and creating a powerful piece of social history. Alongside interactive exhibits, memorabilia and star objects, In The Long Run will present artwork from the archives of Bupa Great North Run Culture and new commissions will be presented by Sir Peter Blake and Claire Leona Apps. About Bupa Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare. With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing. Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America. For more information, visit www.bupa.com