The organisers of the Great North Run have apologised after finisher T-shirts and medals were printed with a map of rival north-east city Sunderland instead of Newcastle.
About 60,000 people took part in the half marathon on Sunday, running 13.1 miles from the centre of Newcastle, across the River Tyne, and through Gateshead, finishing by the coast in South Shields.
After receiving their finishers’ merchandise, runners noticed that the river on their T-shirts and medals matched the shape of the north-east’s other famous river and not Newcastle’s Tyne.
While the map on the medal has been printed with the words “Newcastle”, “Gateshead”, and “South Shields”, they appear to have been overlaid on to a map of Sunderland’s streets, shown either side of the River Wear.
The race’s blue finisher T-shirt also has the same outline in the shape of the Wear, at the centre of a more abstract map made up of words related to the run.
Eagle-eyed runners spotted what appears to be the Stadium of Light on the medal – the home of Newcastle’s arch footballing rivals, Sunderland AFC.
“Thought it was a joke, but just checked and the map on the medal is actually of Sunderland,” one Sunderland fan wrote on X.
“Beautiful as it is, I can’t help but think this year’s Great North Run medal would be more appropriate with a map of Tyneside on it, rather than the streets of Wearside and the Stadium of Light,” Michael Bailey, a photographer, said on X.
Runners cross the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle during the Great North Run. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
The medal design even sparked rumours that it may be a hidden clue signifying a future change of route for the race. “Wear sorry!” a spokesperson for the Great North Run said. “As the eagle-eyed have already spotted, the shape of the river on this year’s finisher T-shirt and medal is indeed the River Wear.
“To answer the rumours that this was the route reveal for next year … sorry to disappoint, it’s a mistake. Lots of people looked very closely at the designs and none of us picked it up.”
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They added: “We had Newcastle United stars on the start line and the Stadium of Light on the medal. The Great North Run is truly a celebration of the region, even more so than we had planned. For the 60,000 who ran yesterday, you’ve got the most unique T-shirt and medal in Great North Run history, a keepsake that we’ll be talking about in 44 years’ time.”
The race’s founder, Sir Brendan Foster, said: “I loved the designs for the medal and T-shirt, spent ages marvelling at them, and never spotted the mistake, even when we hung it in Fenwick’s window. I’ve lived on the River Tyne my whole life and I should’ve noticed, but if I’d run the Great North Run yesterday, I’d still be wearing my medal with pride.”
He added: “Thanks to everyone who took part in an amazing event yesterday, and all the supporters who came out to cheer on the runners. It was a fantastic Great North Run, and we’re already looking forward to 2026, after we’ve brushed up on our geography.”
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