A motorway descent to start. The Tyne Bridge at mile 2. The Gateshead climb at mile 5. Then 8 miles of downhill and coast to the South Shields seafront. Enter your goal time and get hill-adjusted splits for all 13.1 miles.
The opening 3 miles drop 95 feet off the Central Motorway and across the Tyne Bridge. It feels free. The problem is miles 4 and 5, where the course climbs 104 feet through Gateshead to the highest point on the route. Runners who hammered the downhill arrive at the summit with tired quads and 8 miles still to run.
This calculator helps you solve that problem by giving you an exact, step-by-step plan built on research, experience, and data. Enter your goal time, set how aggressively you want to treat uphills, and you'll get a target pace for each of the 14 course segments — accounting for every foot of elevation change from Newcastle to South Shields.
Enter your goal time and effort level. Your personalized mile-by-mile splits appear instantly.
| Mile | Elev | Effort | vs Goal Pace | Target Pace (min/mi) |
Pace Bank | Elapsed |
|---|
Elevation data from official AJ Bell Great North Run GPX course file. Uphill penalty applied above +0.4% grade; downhill benefit applied below −0.75% grade. Math closes exactly to goal time.
13.1 miles through four distinct zones, each one demanding a different strategy.
Mile 1 is the fastest descent on the course (−60 ft). It starts on the A167 Central Motorway above the city. The road drops sharply through the motorway section into Newcastle city centre. 60,000 runners around you will be going out too fast. Control the descent — quads burn early if you hammer downhill.
Mile 2 is the Tyne Bridge. The iconic moment of the Great North Run. You cross the river and enter Gateshead. Crowds are massive here. The grade is gentle (−9 ft).
Mile 3 takes you through Gateshead town centre, continuing a mild descent (−26 ft). Past Gateshead Stadium. Still easy terrain.
Mile 4 is the first real climb (+52 ft). The road starts to rise through Gateshead as you approach the A184. This is where the race starts to sort itself out.
Mile 5 is the summit. The course's highest point at ~201 ft. You gain another 52 ft climbing to the A184 junction. This is the hardest uphill mile on the course.
Mile 6 brings relief. The Felling Bypass begins a sustained descent (−48 ft). Spectator support thins out here. Focus on rhythm.
Mile 7 continues the descent (−54 ft). You're on the A184 heading toward the A194 junction. Let gravity work without pushing.
Mile 8 is the steepest single-mile descent on the course (−51 ft). You've turned onto the A194 (Leam Lane) heading toward South Shields. The course drops to its lowest point near 49 ft.
Mile 9 is a climb back up (+37 ft) as you approach Jarrow. After 4 miles of descending, this climb feels harder than its numbers suggest.
Mile 10 runs along John Reid Road, relatively flat (−8 ft). The scenery shifts as you enter South Shields. You can start to sense the coast ahead.
Mile 11 is the last real climb of the race (+40 ft) through Harton toward the coast. You're through South Shields now. The North Sea is close.
Mile 12 is nearly flat (−4 ft) through Marsden. You get your first glimpse of the North Sea around here. The crowd builds.
Mile 13 is the seafront descent (−22 ft). You turn north onto the A183 coast road. The last mile runs along the seafront with the North Sea on your right. The crowd here is enormous — five or six deep in places.
Mile 13.1 is the finish line on the South Shields seafront. Red Arrows flyover, fireworks, and one of the best finish line atmospheres in world running.
September in Newcastle can range from cool and fast to warm and humid. Plan for both.
| Year | Start Temp | Finish Temp | Humidity | Wind | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 54°F / 12°C | 57°F / 14°C | 85% | 8 mph W | Wet |
| 2023 | 63°F / 17°C | 68°F / 20°C | 70% | 6 mph SW | Warm |
| 2022 | 57°F / 14°C | 63°F / 17°C | 60% | 10 mph W | Ideal |
| 2021 | 61°F / 16°C | 66°F / 19°C | 55% | 7 mph SW | Ideal |
| 2020 | Race canceled (COVID-19) | ||||
Start temps are approximate for 10:50 AM at the A167 motorway. Headwinds from the west are common on the A184 and coastal sections. Wind on race day adds seconds per mile that the elevation calculator doesn't account for.
What the world's largest half marathon gives you, and what it asks for.
The Great North Run is a legitimate PR course for prepared runners. The 100 ft net drop from Newcastle to South Shields helps. The course is mostly downhill or flat after mile 5. The massive field means pace company at any target time.
The descent off the motorway is a time gift if you don't overspend it. Miles 6–8 are the race's engine room: sustained downhill where you can lock into target pace. The seafront finish mile has one of the best crowds in world running. The course record (men: 58:56, women: 1:04:28) tells you the ceiling.
Discipline on the opening descent and through the Gateshead climb. The mile 5 summit is where your race is decided. If you arrive controlled, the next 8 miles work for you. Weather is the other variable — September in Newcastle can be anywhere from cool and fast to warm and humid.
| Category | Record | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Men's Open | 58:56 | 2011 (Martin Mathathi) |
| Women's Open | 1:04:28 | 2019 (Brigid Kosgei) |
| Recent Men's Best | 59:07 | 2019 (Mo Farah) |
| Recent Women's Best | 1:06:45 | 2023 (Peres Jepchirchir) |
Records from Wikipedia/World Athletics. The Great North Run course is point-to-point with a net drop and is not eligible for World Athletics records.
Everything you need from the A167 start to the South Shields seafront.
The Great North Run starts on the A167 Central Motorway just north of Newcastle city centre. Waves start from 10:50 AM onward. Your start time is assigned based on your predicted finish time. Elite and championship runners go first. With 60,000 runners, it takes time for all waves to cross the start line.
Newcastle Central Station is the main rail hub, with good connections from London (3 hours on LNER), Edinburgh, Manchester, and Leeds. The Metro runs from Central Station to various points near the start. Road access to the A167 is closed on race morning. Park-and-ride options operate from several locations.
Bag drop operates near the start. Your bag is transported by bus to the finish area in South Shields. Since this is point-to-point, everything you want at the finish needs to go in your bag.
Plan for warm clothing — South Shields' seafront can be windier and cooler than Newcastle.
Water and sports drink are provided at stations approximately every 2 miles. Gel zones are available on course. For a half marathon, most runners need 1–2 gels. Carry your preferred nutrition if your stomach is sensitive to race-day products.
The finish is on the South Shields seafront along the A183 coast road. After crossing the finish line, you'll walk through the finish area to collect your medal, bag, and refreshments.
The Red Arrows typically perform a flyover during the race, which is one of the event's most iconic moments.
The seafront festival area has food, music, and family reunion zones. The Metro from South Shields station gets you back to Newcastle in about 25 minutes. Trains fill up fast after the race — consider waiting 30–60 minutes for the rush to clear.
Alternatively, many runners arrange pickup from the seafront area.
The Great North Run has a net elevation drop of about 100 feet from Newcastle to South Shields, with 182 feet of total climbing. The opening 3 miles drop steeply off the Central Motorway, then miles 4 and 5 climb 104 feet through Gateshead to the course summit at about 201 feet. From mile 5 onward the course is mostly downhill or flat, with a sneaky 37-foot climb at mile 9 and a 40-foot climb at mile 11. The elevation data in this calculator was parsed directly from the official Great North Run GPX course file.
For prepared runners, yes. The 100-foot net drop helps, miles 6 through 10 give you sustained downhill running to lock into goal pace, and the massive 60,000-person field means pacing company at any target time. The main risk is overspending the opening descent. Runners who treat miles 1 through 5 as controlled effort and miles 6 through 13 as race pace generally run their best times here.
The Tyne Bridge crossing at mile 2 is the most iconic moment of the Great North Run. Crowd noise is enormous. The bridge itself is nearly flat with a gentle downhill grade of about 9 feet. The risk is going too fast in the atmosphere. Thousands of spectators line both sides. Enjoy it, but watch your pace — the Gateshead climb starts less than 2 miles later.
The calculator uses elevation data parsed directly from the official Great North Run GPX course file to compute hill-adjusted paces for each of the 14 segments. The biggest adjustments hit miles 1, 4, and 5, where the motorway descent and Gateshead climb create the largest pace swings. Enter your goal time and it returns mile-by-mile splits where the math closes exactly to your goal. What the calculator does not account for: wind on the A184 and coastal sections, warm weather, and the energy of 60,000 runners around you.
