Foster's North East legacy

British Great North Run hope Jon Brown

By BBC's Mark Cotton

Brendan Foster won European and Commonwealth gold and was Britain's only track and field medallist at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.

Yet perhaps his most cherished achievement is the annual photograph of the thousands of athletes in the Great North Run making their way across the Tyne Bridge.

More than 10,600 people took part in the first event.

It is a staggering figure when you consider at the time that the biggest mass participation event in Britain was the national cross-country championships in which about 1,300 athletes took part.

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A letter from Brendan to Tyneside's chief constable at the time stated: "I have an agreement with the BBC to organise this as a joint venture and consequently we are considering the problem of thousands of competitors.

"I realise this may be a bit ambitious, but I wondered if you could enlist the co-operation of the police to manage the traffic and possibly close some roads."

Now, 21 years on, the Great North Run has come of age.

Continued success

Last year, 36,822 runners crossed the finish line - making the run not only Britain's biggest sporting event, but also the world's largest half-marathon.

But Foster is bashful about the reasons for the massive continued success of the Great North Run.

"It's really more for others to say, but apparently it's a great experience, the atmosphere's fun and Tyneside is a great place to visit and people have a good weekend as well as a good run.

"If the London Marathon is Ascot, then we are the Grand National.

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"It's more approachable, but these are all things people tell me, because I am not in a position to judge that."

This year, the event's 21st anniversary, there are now around 47,000 entries and applications had to close early for the first time because of the great demand to compete.

Brendan, now a BBC sports commentator, says: "When I look back, I never dreamed that we would be achieving these sorts of figures.

"Back in 1980, we couldn't even think of a name for it."

But the popularity of the run - which has been televised and supported by the BBC over the last two decades - has made it one of the biggest tourist attractions in the region.

Brendan says, "Our philosophy is that we always have to improve it and the innovation this year is the Great North Mile on the Saturday afternoon, which is going to take place on the Quayside."

The race for elite runners, which will be televised on BBC Grandstand, will run along the Quayside, cross the swing bridge, along the other side and across the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.