AJ Bell Great North Run 2027

Sunday, 12 September 2027 · Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

In the RunningChecked 13 October 2026Read the sources

Planning the trip? See how In the Running helps make it easier.

Getting to Newcastle

Newcastle Airport has its own Metro station. The airport gives about 25 minutes to Haymarket, Monument or Central Station. Choose the stop that suits your room, then check the participant guide for the approach to your start area.

If you arrive by train, plan the final walk to the A167 separately from the train trip. The race has several waves, and the right arrival route depends on your wave colour.

South Shields is a separate trip after the finish. The organiser warns that transport will be busy, even with extra Metro services. Some stations will close or have limited access. Check the race-week travel notice before booking a tight Sunday departure.

Where to stay in Newcastle

A room in central Newcastle keeps you near the start, but you still need a way back from South Shields. Work out both trips before booking. The organiser has not given walking times from the city centre to each Runners Hub.

If you stay in South Shields, you reverse that trade-off. You travel to Newcastle before the race and return to your room after finishing on the coast. Check the Sunday Metro timetable and your wave's assembly time together.

Collecting your number

Your race number contains the timing chip. The organiser sends numbers from about four weeks before the Great North Run. Read the participant guide for the arrangements that apply to your address, especially if you are travelling from abroad.

If your number does not arrive, collect a replacement from an information point on the Saturday or race morning. Bring ID. The guide will give the locations and opening hours, so check those before setting your travel times.

Race morning 2026 details

Your wave colour determines when and where you arrive at the Newcastle start. Use the time in your own guide. The 10:50 start in the 2026 timetable is not an instruction for every runner to turn up then.

You can join a slower wave without visiting an information point. You cannot move to a faster wave. Start groups are set from the finish time you gave when entering.

Attach the baggage label from your number before leaving your room. Drop your bag at the buses in your Runners Hub, then show your number to collect it in South Shields. The participant guide gives each bus area's hours.

The Great Run series FAQ says its sweep vehicle travels at 17 minutes per mile. Runners who fall behind are asked to continue on the pavement. Check the Great North Run guide for any event-specific limit before relying on that general policy.

The course 2027 details

From the Central Motorway, you cross the Tyne Bridge and run into Gateshead. The first half uses long, straight roads past Gateshead International Stadium. There is a gradual climb between miles 3 and 5, followed by downhill running towards mile 8.

The uphill stretch between miles 8 and 12 is the part to plan for. You reach your first view of the North Sea around mile 12, then descend to South Shields. The final mile follows the seafront.

The organiser has not published a 2027 course map yet. This description follows its 2025 course map, which shows the drinks, toilets and the elevation profile, so check the 2027 map for station positions when it appears. No total climb figure is given in the route description.

Weather in Newcastle in September

These are the last five completed race days at the A167 Central Motorway start in Newcastle, at 10:00 and at 13:00. They are model estimates for the start area, not readings from a weather station.

Afterwards

Collect your bag with your number in South Shields, then meet supporters outside the finish flow. The event village has food and drink stalls and an Après Run area. Agree a meeting point before the race, while everyone can check the finish map.

The organiser recommends the Metro for the return trip. Allow for a queue as well as the ride. If you are catching a train or flight that evening, include bag collection and the walk away from the seafront in your timing.

Other race weekends

Close by, and with guides of their own, are Edinburgh Marathon and Manchester Marathon.

The next races with a guide

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All race weekend guides

Sources

Written from the organiser's published information and the app's own race data, checked on 13 October 2026.

If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.