29 Sep 2025
Great North Run Success
Carly and her partner Martin recently ran the Great North Run for AMEND. Carly kindly shared a few words about the experience.
In September, my partner and I (and 60,000 other people) took part in the Great North Run, raising money and awareness for AMEND. MEN runs in my family, and AMEND has been a source of support, advice and information since we first learned about the condition. So when the chance came up to run the world’s biggest half marathon and support the charity at the same time, it felt like too good an opportunity to miss.
It was brilliant to be able to run with my partner as well – we kept each other going through the hard parts. For me that was just after the first few miles. The excitement of the start, the Red Arrows flying past, and crossing the Tyne Bridge were incredible, but once that was behind us the realisation of how far we had to go definitely kicked in!
One of the most emotional parts of the day was seeing why people were running – there were names, photos and messages on t-shirts – some fundraising, others remembering loved ones. It was a reminder of how many personal stories were woven into the day, as well as the scale of the event – even ten miles in we were still weaving through people.
The support from the crowd was amazing. People lined the streets the whole way, cheering, giving high-fives, and handing out all manner of foods to keep us going ’til the finish line – the ice pops were a personal highlight, and the beer was surprisingly hard to drink while running. The final stretch was wall to wall people cheering us on, which made crossing the finish line feel epic :) I’ve never been part of anything like it.
We’re delighted to have raised £624 (including gift aid) for AMEND, and to have raised awareness of the charity through the conversations that we’ve had in the run up. And yes, I am still amused that the finishers shirt and medal have the wrong river on them – though as it’s Sunderland, my Geordie partner found that a bit less funny.
If anyone is interested in running for AMEND in 2026 in any of the Great Run company events, please do let Helen in the office know.
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