Great North Run 2024 Date: Sunday 8th September 2024Location: NewcastleEvent distance: 13.1 miles The Great North Run is a truly electric event. In fact, it’s the biggest Half Marathon in the world – only the London Marathon comes close to the same amount of participants. You'll run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields, being cheered on all the way. Our Fundraiser Tracy ran it in 2023 and says "this is a truly iconic run to take part in and I was so excited! I saw the Red Arrows at the beginning of the race and again in the finish village, they were awesome. The support around the course was fantastic; locals were playing music, had their hoses out, handing out jelly babies and even ice pops as it was such a hot day! I really would recommend this run." Never run before? You have plenty of time to train! The NHS has a fantastic Couch to 5K training plan which lasts 9 weeks. Our Fundraiser Tracy who is a keen runner, found the BUPA Half Marathon beginners training plan really helpful, which is a 12 week plan. So as long as you start the couch to 5k by Monday 15th April, you should be able to run your 5k by Sunday 16th June, ready to start the Half Marathon training plan on Monday 17th June ready for the Great North Run on Sunday 8th September! Obviously the earlier you start your training, the more confident you'll feel. Apply for a ballot place: The general ballot for the Great North Run has now closed. If you did receive a place, we would be delighted if you ran for us. We are such a tiny charity trying to make a big difference that it would mean so much to us in our future work in trying to save little lives. As the charity hasn't paid for your place, you won't have to raise a minimum amount of sponsorship, just raise what you can! Once you have raised £20 for the charity, we will send you a free running vest to train in and wear on the day. Apply for a charity place: Kicks Count have been very lucky in securing some charity places in the 2024 Great North Run. These do come at a cost to us so if you would like to apply for one of our charity places, we ask for a £30 fee (non-refundable) to secure your place, then pledge to raise a minimum of £350 in sponsorship for the charity. If you are interested in applying for a charity place, please email Tracy your reasons for wanting to run for Kicks Count, your running background and how you plan on raising the funds. We expect there to be a lot of demand for these places so please do give us as much detail as possible. If you're struggling for ideas to help with your fundraising, please do ask as we have plenty of ideas to help you reach this target. CONTACT US I ran the Great North Run; it was a fantastic personal achievement. In 2011, my husband and I went to our local MRU with reduced movements and were told that our little boy hadn't made it. It was the most devastating day of my life and a memory that will never go away no matter how much time passes. During my pregnancy I'd not been aware of the importance of monitoring movements. It was my first pregnancy and the prospect of losing my baby after the first 12 weeks wasn't even considered. It was during the time after Joshua's birth I came across Kicks Count and the important work that they do providing information to mums-to-be - Gillian Manage Cookie Preferences