by RBR Admin
The Great North Run, the largest half marathon in the world, has been cancelled for 2020. So what? Check out how the Great Run Company put together the info and the questions. I love this event. I hope to see 55,000 of my closest friends at the event in 2021.
IMPORTANT EVENT UPDATE – 15 JUNE 2020
Today, we have confirmed the cancellation of the 2020 Great North Run. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic mean it isn’t possible to stage the event as planned this year.
We haven’t taken this decision lightly. The Great North Run raises over £25m for charity, and is an important day in the North East calendar. Over the past few months, we’ve worked hard, and in close consultation with our medical teams, local authorities and key partners to try and find a way to run the Great North Run which both observes social distancing rules, and, crucially, doesn’t impact on our local NHS. We have also looked at holding the Great North Run later in the year. But, as things stand, and even as the situation improves, it isn’t going to be possible to meet these goals with any certainty, and so, with just under three months to go we have concluded that the best course of action is to cancel.
We know how disappointing this is, but we’re sure everyone will understand why this decision has been made.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
GREAT NORTH RUN
The 40th Great North Run is now scheduled to take place on 12th September 2021, and we’d love you to be part of it.
2020 Ballot runners and members have the option to roll their entry to the next Great North Run, scheduled for 12th September 2021, and will receive an email confirming the next steps. There is nothing to pay and no ballot to enter – you will have secured your entry. Further details for Ballot, Charity and Member runners are below.
If you do not wish to roll your entry over then you will receive a refund. You don’t need to do anything to claim this, we will process it automatically to the card you paid on. The refund will be your cost of entry minus a £5 administrative fee, as detailed in the terms and conditions at the point of entry. This fee covers some, but not all, of the costs we have already committed, such as fees charged to us to process the original booking, staff and supplier costs, and third-party payment providers. This is very much in line with other event and ticket providers across the industry.
Please note this refund will be processed after 31st July 2020. It will take us a little while to process refunds, so we ask you to bear with us after this time whilst we process your refund.
BALLOT RUNNERS
All ballot runners can roll their place into the next Great North Run. To secure your place, simply click here and complete the form before the 1st of August. There is nothing further to pay and no ballot to enter – you will have secured your entry.
If you do not wish to roll your entry over then you will receive a refund. Anyone who has not completed the rollover process before the 1st August 2020 will be automatically refunded.
CHARITY RUNNERS
We have communicated the cancellation with charities. If you have a charity place, they will be in touch with you directly in the coming days or weeks to confirm the process for securing your place in the next Great North Run (currently scheduled to take place on 12th September 2021). Please can we ask that you wait for information from your charity before you contact us with questions.
MEMBERS
Members with a confirmed entry can roll their place into the next Great North Run. To secure your place, simply click here and complete the form before the 1st of August. There is nothing further to pay and no ballot to enter – you will have secured your entry. We will also extend your membership for a further year.
If you do not wish to roll your entry over then you will receive a refund. Anyone who has not completed the rollover process before the 1st August 2020will be automatically refunded as detailed above.
If you are a member without a 2020 Great North Run Entry, please see our membership page for more information.
FAQS
We’ve put together a comprehensive list of questions and answers around the cancellation of the Great North Run. If you have a query, please select the relevant question from the list below.
If your place was secured via a charity, your charity will be in touch with you in the coming days or weeks to confirm the process for securing a place in the next Great North Run.
It is possible that there will be no entries available in 2021, and so no ballot. The number of places that will be available in the ballot for 2021 will depend on how many of our 2020 customers decide to roll over their places, and the capacity of the Great North Run in 2021. This will not be confirmed until later in the year with the ballot taking place in early 2021, should it be necessary. More details will follow on this in due course.
The deadline for the decision is before 1st August 2020. Anyone who has not completed the roll over process by 23.59 on 31st July will be automatically refunded their entry fee (minus a £5 admin fee) and their place in the Great North Run 2021 will be forfeited.
Unfortunately once you have completed the roll over process, you are not able to change your mind. You have until 1st August to decide which option to choose.
The fee covers, some, but not all, of the costs that have already been committed to, such as fees charged to us to process the original booking, staff time and supplier costs, and third party payment providers. This is very much in line with other event and ticket providers across the industry.
No. Once you have committed to withdraw your entry through deferral you cannot be reinstated into the event, therefore are not eligible for refund or roll over.
The refund process will begin once the deadline of 31st July has passed. It will take us a little while to process refunds, so we ask you to bear with us after this time whilst we process your refund.
No. Finisher T-shirts and medals are not available for the Great North Run
No. Rolled over entries from 2020 into 2021 are not eligible for transfer to others. If you can’t make 2021 then please do not roll your place over and claim the refund instead.
No. By requesting a refund you are forfeiting your Great North Run entry and will not qualify for a guaranteed place in the next Great North Run.
We are working on some big plans to mark the occasion. We will start to share these with you in the next few days, so please watch this space.
Fundraising isn’t administered by The Great Run Company so you should contact the charity you have signed up with, or check the guidance on your fundraising website (e.g. Just Giving, Virgin Money Giving).
Your donation is still important to the charity though, possibly even more so at this time, and you’ve already put in the hard work in your training so do consider still giving them your fundraising.
We are working on some big plans to still mark the occasion this year which you can use as the fundraising event. More details will follow shortly on this.
The terms and conditions are presented to all customers at the point of entering the event where all users must agree to them before proceeding with event entry. Great Run 2020 event entry terms and conditions are also available online for reference and can be found here.
The entry fee paid by all entrants who roll their places over from 2020 into the next Great North Run will be honoured and they will not have to pay any additional fees.
If you select to roll your entry over, your iTAB purchase will also be rolled over into 2021. Anyone who has not completed the roll over process by 23.59 on 31st July will be automatically refunded their entry fee plus their iTAB (minus a £5 admin fee) and their place in the Great North Run 2021 will be forfeited.
Your 2020 entry rolled over into 2021 will be subject to the standard deferment policy should you decide to defer your place into the following year.
We will follow government guidance at all times and take the appropriate measures required to ensure the safety of the participants, staff, volunteers and the wider public, including potential spectators. We will consider all areas of the event to ensure that it is COVID secure including – social distancing, travel to/from the event, start/course/finish areas, feed stations, medical considerations, hygiene, spectators/residents/businesses and elite athlete management.
Any enquiries relating to travel and accommodation should be handled with your travel provider.
If you have used the services of Nirvana Europe, the Great North Run official travel partner, please email them at contactus@nirvanaeurope.com.
No, event entries into the GNR 2020 are not accepted at this point.
No, event entries into the GNR 2020 are not accepted at this point.
Due to uncertainty about where the Great North 5k will fit into the timetable next year, roll over of your entry is not possible.
