The 45th edition of the iconic Great North Run delivered drama, dominant performances and unexpected twists this year, as a field of 63,000 registered runners took on the 13.1-mile half-marathon course across northeast England. Among the pre-race storylines that captured local attention was the highly anticipated comeback of British long-distance star Eilish McColgan, who had been working her way back to top form after a broken toe derailed her season earlier this year. That comeback was cut short just miles into the race, however, when a fresh foot injury forced the 35-year-old Scot to withdraw early, leaving the women’s elite field wide open.
Seizing the opportunity without hesitation was Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, the Olympic silver medalist and former London Marathon champion who already held the women’s course record at the Great North Run from her 2019 run. The 32-year-old stamped her authority on the race from the opening mile, breaking away from the chasing pack early and spending much of the distance running alone at the front. She crossed the finish line in a time of 1:06:15, securing a comfortable victory that came two full minutes ahead of her compatriot Sheila Chepkirui, last year’s race winner, who took second place. While Kosgei’s winning time was slower than her 2019 course record of 1:04:28, her performance was no less dominant, cementing her status as one of the most consistent distance runners in the world. For British fans, the top finish by a home athlete came from Amy-Eloise Neale, who crossed the line in fifth place overall.
For McColgan, the early exit adds another chapter to a tough 2025 season. The runner originally suffered her broken toe during April’s London Marathon, where she still pushed through the pain — with blood visible seeping through her running shoe by the finish line — to claim seventh place overall and top British honors. The injury forced her to miss July’s Commonwealth Games, and while she notched a win at London’s Big Half just one week prior to the Great North Run, finishing in 1:10:54, she had openly admitted post-race that she still harbored concerns about her injury recovery and overall fitness.
The men’s elite race delivered a far tighter finish, with American runner Zouhair Talbi pulling off a stunning late surge to claim the title over last year’s champion, Kenya’s Alex Mutiso. The two runners matched each other stride for stride through nearly the entire 13.1-mile course, staying neck-and-neck into the final mile before Talbi, 31, kicked into another gear to pull away. He held off Mutiso’s late chase to cross the line in 59:47, just six seconds off his own personal best time of 59:41. Mutiso finished second with a time of 1:00:01, 14 seconds behind Talbi, while Japan’s Yohei Ikeda rounded out the podium in third place. The men’s course record of 58:56, set by Kenya’s Martin Mathathi back in 2011, remains unbroken after this year’s race. Marc Scott, the 2021 Great North Run champion, was the top British finisher in the men’s elite field, taking eighth place overall.
In the wheelchair competitions, British legend David Weir made history once again, claiming his 10th Great North Run title with a winning time of 43:06 in the men’s race. Melanie Woods claimed the women’s wheelchair title with a finish time of 50:19. Beyond the elite competition, the race drew global attention for its massive participation field, which included UK politician Andy Burnham, who completed the iconic race and spoke publicly about his positive experience taking on the challenge.