Great North Run wants a runner from every country in world

The half-marathon, which will be staged for the 36th time on Sunday, September 11, is already the biggest of its kind in the world, with 57,000 accepted entrants from more than 100,000 applicants.

And, after welcoming its millionth finisher over the line in 2014, organisers of the hugely-popular event have now set their sights on a unique project.

The Great Run Company aim to recruit at least one runner born in every member state of the United Nations – a total of 193 countries – to take part in the iconic event.

So far, runners from 125 countries have registered, with another 68 required to complete the ambitious plan – and Great Run have called upon members of the general public to help fill in the gaps.

Do you know someone from Benin who lives in Benwell? A runner from Cambodia living in Cramlington? An adopted Geordie from Georgia? Or is there a Madagascan residing in Middlesbrough?

“Last year we had runners from every single postcode in the UK, which makes it Britain’s biggest and favourite run,” said Great Run chief executive, Mark Hollinshead, who unveiled the plan at a press conference alongside Great North Run founder Brendan Foster.

“By inviting participants from every single country on the planet, it will reassert its credentials as the world’s favourite run.

“We’re inviting the people of the United Kingdom to help us find those runners which will make it a spectacular event.

“It’s an event that over its history has celebrated lots of firsts, including the greatest road race in history in 2013 with Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah and Haile Gebrselassie, and the first event in the world to have a million finishers.

“This year, we’ll hopefully celebrate the fact that there’s someone born in every country on the planet in one place, on one day, in the same event, which will make it a world first.”

From Albania to Zambia, from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, from Angola to Vanuatu, the route will carry flags from all 193 UN member states and will be transformed into a carnival of colour.

The Great North CityGames, Junior and Mini Great North Runs and the Great North 5k held on Saturday, September 10, will be accompanied by a food festival with dishes from around the world on offer.

And there will be interactive digital and social media elements leading up to and on the day of the event using the hashtag #GNRWorldRun.

It is the latest stage in the development of the Great North Run, 35 years on from its first staging in 1981, where 12,000 people took part.

All applicants will be requested to supply proof of their nationality before being accepted into the event, and a dedicated email address – [email protected] - has been set up to handle inquiries from anyone who could be eligible.

To find out more about the World’s Favourite Run campaign, visit greatrun.orgor contact on social media using #GNRWorldRun.

The following countries currently do not have any registrations for the 2016 Great North Run:

Andorra

Angola

Antigua and Barbuda

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cabo Verde

Cambodia

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Costa Rica

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Dominica

Ecuador

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia

Georgia

Grenada

Guatemala

Guinea

Guinea Bissau

Honduras

Iceland

Ivory Coast

Jordan

Kiribati

Kyrgyzstan

Liechtenstein

Macedonia

Madagascar

Maldives

Mali

Marshall Islands

Mauritania

Micronesia (Federated States of)

Mongolia

Mozambique

Nicaragua

Niger

Palau

Paraguay

Republic of Moldova

Rwanda

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Samoa

San Marino

Sao Tome and Principe

Senegal

Solomon Islands

Somalia

South ‎Sudan

Suriname

Togo

Tonga

Turkmenistan

Tuvalu

Yemen