Great Newham London runners to be among first on new Olympic Stadium track
Families will be among the first to run on the new track at the London Olympic Stadium when the Family Run takes place as part of the Great Newham London Run events on July 17.
The 2km run around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park will start on the South Lawn and end with participants crossing the finish line within the stadium. Thousands of children between five and 18 will run together with their parents as friends and family cheer from the stadium stands.
The Family Run will start after the 10km Great Newham London Run, which will also finish on the new track.
Now in its seventh year, the Great Newham London Run is continuing to grow in popularity and organisers have set a target of expanding the event to make it bigger than the Great North Run, with 60,000 people taking part by 2020.
Last year 10,000 people took part in the 10km race and 3500 entered the Family Run. This year around 15,000 people are expected to take part in the 10km run and 5000 in the family event.
"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for families to run in the footsteps of the legends that lit up the golden summer of 2012," said Brendan Foster, chairman of event organiser the Great Run Company. "It gets more popular every year and we’re on our way to making this event bigger than the Great North Run.
"Parents are great role models for their children, and what better way to enjoy being active together than by sharing this golden moment, finishing hand in hand on the new track in the former Olympic Stadium.
"It is great for the sport that families are among the first to run in the stadium where Mo Farah, Jess Ennis-Hill and Usain Bolt made history, just a few weeks before the Rio 2016 Games get underway."
Runners can sign up now to enter both the 10km and Family Run events at greatrun.org.
