Mum draws the line at 1,000,000!

Feb 15 2008 by Jule Wilson, The Journal

THE Great North Run has attracted its millionth entrant.

Leanne Symonds, 32, has never taken part in the Great North Run before, so was surprised to find out she had helped the race to reach it latest milestone.

The event attracts runners from all over the world, so organisers yesterday said they were especially pleased that their millionth entrant was from the North East.

Clerical assistant Leanne from Cramlington, Northumberland, will be running to raise cash for research into cystic fibrosis in memory of a cousin who died of the disease.

She said: “My cousin Peter Cooney was 32 when he died a couple of years ago, and I have another cousin who is also a sufferer, Jedd Symonds – he is 21 – so I’ll be running for both of them.”

Leanne, who has a five-year-old son, Ewan Kennedy, said she was really excited to be part of an the event she has been watching from the sidelines since it began in 1981.

She said: “My dad Barry has been running for about 20 years, and I’ve been to cheer him on as he has crossed the finish line in South Shields a couple of times.

“I also used to be in the Elswick Harriers and the Cramlington Juniors as a teenager, and I still run, but I’ve never applied for the Great North Run before.” Leanne, who works at Blyth Valley Council, said: “I run anyway for recreation, and feel quite fit at the moment

“So I thought I may as well enter and try to raise some money for charity.

“But I never expected any of this – I’m looking forward to it even more now.”

Leanne only put her name forward for the annual event about a month ago, and was identified as the millionth entrant to the famous race when the ballot for successful places took place in Newcastle earlier this week.

She said: “I thought it was a wind-up when I was first told.

“I was a bit shocked, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’ll have to finish now.”

Leanne can already tackle five miles, but aims to double that on her training runs in the next few months and organisers of the Great North Run plan to help her reach the goal with a tailored training plan.

The event’s founder and chairman Brendan Foster, who created the Great North Run after retiring from athletics, said: “If people enter, I think that provides them with the incentive to train, and now that we have technology such as the internet we can send them a tailored training programme and support them throughout their preparation for the race.

“When this race first began, the biggest event at the time had about 1,300 runners and the run has grown to 52,000 from all over the world.

“So it’s lovely that this milestone has been reached by a young lady from the local area.

“I never imagined the event would become such a huge success and it’s wonderful.”

Brendan also said he would be keeping an eye out for Leanne on the day of the race in October. He said: “I have met Leanne, and I know her number, so I’m sure I’ll be saying a few words from the commentary box.

“I wish her lots of luck in the race.”

Leanne said: “My son has already been telling all his school friends that I am famous.”

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This race just keeps smashing records

THE Great North Run is now the biggest sporting event in Europe, having increased its entry limit by 2,000 to a record 52,000 participants this year.

The race, which first took place on June 28, 1981, with a field of 12,770 runners, was the brainchild of former Olympic athlete Brendan Foster.

He said: "We had absolutely no idea the race would grow to the extent it has and we are very proud. It shows that people are willing to push themselves and try new challenges, and that anybody can do it."

The half-marathon, in which every postcode in Britain is now represented, is so big that it needs more than 2,500 volunteers to help it run smoothly.

And runners in all the Great North Runs have clocked up more than 9,557,812 miles between them.

Brendan, honoured last year by the Queen for services to sport, said: "Just think how many millions of training miles will have been run by those preparing for the Great North Run."

The Great North Run has featured more than 20 Olympic gold medallists and was one of the first events in the country to provide fine-spray showers on a half marathon route. There are now three along the course.

A total of 696,671 people have completed the run – more than double the population of Iceland – and the finish line, which takes two weeks to build, is in use for around four hours on the day.

Paula Radcliffe in 2003 and Zersenay Tadesse in 2005 hold the record for the fastest times: 1hr 5min, 40secs and 59min 5secs respectively.

- THIS year’s run is on October 5 – almost 27-and-a-half years after the first on June 28, 1981.

Olympic athlete Brendan Foster CBE thought up the concept while training for the 1980 Olympics in New Zealand.

Brendan became determined to get it off the ground and took part in the first race, along with fellow athlete Steve Cram.

Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan was also one of the first runners to take part – sporting a strip with both Newcastle United’s black and white and Sunderland’s red and white stripes.

First past the line in South Shields was local boy Mike McLeod who went on to win silver in the Olympic 10,000m event three years later.