Lindisfarne To Start Record-Breaking Great North 10K

NORTH-EAST music icons Lindisfarne have been announced as honorary starters of this year’s Great North 10K, where a record amount of runners have signed up to take part.

The band, who saw chart success with Fog on the Tyne and Run For Home, will get the North-East’s biggest 10K event off to a flying start – and have also lent the name of their biggest hit to the infamous hill on the run’s course.

A total of 5,000 runners will line the route on the banks of the Tyne on July 3 and, after a campaign on social media to name the incline towards the finish of the 6.2-mile event, Richard Scrimshaw was victorious with his Slog On The Tyne effort.

Lindisfarne’s founder-member, frontman and award-winning songwriter Rod Clements said: “We are delighted to be doing the easy part of this event and sending all these dedicated runners on their way.

“We’ll be thinking of them as they tackle the infamous Slog On The Tyne and wishing them well as they Run For Home”.

Runners will take in the sights of Sage Gateshead, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art and Gateshead Millenium Bridge before finishing inside the iconic Gateshead International Stadium.

This year, for the first time the event will also include the Great North 10k Family Mile and Great North 10k Toddler Dash, designed for children up to 15 years old to enjoy getting active with their family members.

The Great Run Company’s communications director David Hart said: “Lindisfarne are a North-East institution and we are delighted that they will be honorary starters on what is a record-breaking event for us.

“With the infamous hill being named after one of their biggest hits, it was fitting that they should come along and cheer on those runners who will be tackling the route.”

Lindisfarne are currently getting into the swing of 2016 with festival appearances in the North East and beyond, and a busy concert schedule later in the year culminating in the Lindisfarne Christmas Shows at Newcastle City Hall on December 22 and 23.

While the Great North 10K has reached capacity, entries are still open for the family events. For more information, visit greatrun.org/north10k