Tributes were paid to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the Great North Run, where Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo and Kenya’s Hellen Obiri won the elite men’s and women’s races.
After multi-denomination faith leaders provided a “moment of reflection”, a minute’s silence was held and the national anthem played before the start of the elite men’s race and mass start run in Newcastle.
“The overall feeling was that the Great North Run is about coming together,” said race founder Brendan Foster.
Speaking to BBC Sport prior to the start, he added: “We felt that in moments of mourning, as has been demonstrated across the country, people have wanted to come together.
“We felt it was in tune with what would have been the Queen’s wishes, that she would have wanted people coming together as a community, to do what they were aiming for, to be the best version of themselves, to raise money for charities.”
In the elite women’s race, two-time Olympic 5,000m silver medallist Obiri won in a time of one hour seven minutes and five seconds for her second successive Great North Run title.
Fellow Kenyan and Olympic marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir was second, two seconds behind, while Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana finished third. Britain’s Charlotte Purdue was fifth.
Half marathon world champion Kiplimo – who recently won double gold at the Commonwealth Games – crossed the line in 59 minutes 33 seconds to win the men’s elite race.
Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega was second, with his Ethiopian compatriot Kenenisa Bekele placed third.
Six-time Paralympic gold medallist David Weir won the men’s wheelchair race for an eighth time, while Commonwealth Games marathon silver medallist Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women’s wheelchair race.
“There was still quite a good atmosphere, but it’s still quite a sad day,” Weir told BBC Sport.
“It’s definitely a privilege even to race for Great Britain, and it’s nice to get my first win under the King’s flag, so it’s a proud moment.”
A total of 60,000 people entered the 41st edition of the world’s biggest half marathon.
This year’s Great North Run saw it return to its usual 13.1 mile Newcastle to South Shields route, after changes were made in 2021 to make it Covid safe.
