How dangerous is the Great North Run?
“Whatever you do, don’t stop.” In the six months of training and straining before last year’s Great North Run, this was the key advice that carried me over the finish line. As mind, body and soul pleaded for a rest, this mantra enabled me to conquer those long last few miles of the world’s largest half-marathon. Joy, relief and pride swept over me as the torment finished. Then came the reality check. Four men aged between 28 and 52 had collapsed and died in the last miles of the race. Could it have been me? Were they telling themselves “Don’t stop” before it was too late? On Sunday, another male runner, this one 29, died on the run, the 13th fatality in 26 years of the race. The London Marathon, twice the distance, has been running for the same time and only eight on-course deaths have been recorded. Around 700,000 runners have completed the Great North Run; 650,000 the London Marathon. Clearly something is not right. Organisers of the Great North Run reacted to last year’s deaths by d
