Runners have until February 6 to apply to take part in the world's biggest half-marathon

The general entry ballot is now open for the Simplyhealth Great North Run which will take place on Sunday September 10 in 2017.

The hugely popular event, which has seen more than a million participants complete the 13.1 mile route from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne to the coast in South Shields since it was first staged in 1981, had runners from 178 different nations involved in the 2016 edition as part of the World’s Favourite Run campaign.

At that time, Guinness World Records officially ratified the event as the world’s biggest half-marathon race, with 57,000 entrants annually.

Mo Farah claimed a third consecutive victory and there was a debut win for Vivian Cheruiyot in last year's elite Great North Run races, with the event weekend also including the Great North CityGames and Great North 5K, plus the Junior and Mini Great North Run.

It's finally here!

2017 @SimplyhealthUK #GreatNorthRun General Ballot is now OPEN.

? https://t.co/ldg4ZxtCF2 pic.twitter.com/ZrOJ8wifjc

— Great Run (@Great_Run) January 9, 2017

The 2017 Great North Run general entry ballot, for which you can register here, opened today, Monday January 9, and will close on Tuesday February 6.

Last month, The Great Run Company announced that charity fundraisers taking part in Great Run events had raised almost £54million for good causes in 2016. A total of £26,332,773 was raised by Great North Run participants alone.