Newcastle United stars Jacob Murphy and Nick Pope will officially start the 2025 Great North Run on Sunday.
Murphy and Pope, who helped Newcastle win the 2025 Carabao Cup and qualify for the Champions League, will represent the club on the starters platform to start the 44th edition of ‘the world’s greatest half marathon’.
The Great North Run will be broadcast live on BBC One from 10am and will see elite athletes line up alongside 60,000 runners with a crowd of over 200,000 spectators expected to line the 13.1 mile course down to South Shields.
Murphy and Pope will join a long list of famous North East faces who have started the Great North Run. Sting, Ant McPartlin, Dec Donnelly, Sir Bobby Robson, Alan Shearer, Eddie Howe, and Jill Scott, as well as fellow Olympic Champions, Sir Chris Hoy and Dame Kelly Holmes have all performed starting duties.
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GNR founder Sir Brendan Foster reacts
Sir Brendan Foster, Founder of the Great North Run and President of The Great Run Company, said: “We’ve had a Prime Minister, England football managers, Rock stars, Olympic Champions, TV Celebrities and a whole host more, but in 44 years of the Great North Run we’ve never had players representing a North East football club who have won a major trophy.
“The success of the Magpies was celebrated far and wide across the North East so it was only fitting to continue those celebrations at this year’s AJ Bell Great North Run.”
2025 Great North Run starter Jacob Murphy gives his Newcastle United view
Looking ahead to the Great North Run, Murphy was asked his thoughts on who he would back to do the best out of any of his Newcastle teammates in the half-marathon.
“I’d back big Sven Botman,” Murphy said. “He tested the best when we did the yo-yo in the summer so he can run well and he’ll be our winner.”
Botman testing the best will come as a welcome surprise to outsiders given the defender’s injury record over the past two seasons.
As for the worst, Murphy added: “Fabian Schar. Terrible, terrible runner because his game is all about intelligence, not the running!
“My hype man would be Big Dan Burn. When you’re in the trenches, he’s the voice you want in your ear telling you to keep going.
“I think [the Great North Run] is something I would really like to do once I finish playing, a really good challenge to test myself with a new comfort zone to try and get into. I look forward to these new challenges when I finish playing.”
Ahead of the running action this weekend which will see over 75,000 runners take part, tens of thousands of people have already entered the September Ballot for the 2026 AJ Bell Great North Run. Eager participants have until midnight on Sunday 14th September to register. For your chance to be on that iconic start line - sign up now atgreatrun.org/north.
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