We are the GNR: Jacqueline Roe

Ordinary people doing extraordinary things has been the bedrock of the Great North Run for 44 years. They are the Great North Run! The lifeblood of this iconic event, running through the 13.1-mile course year after year from city to sea.

Every September, 60,000 runners take to the streets of the North East, with over 200,000 people lining the route—cheering, clapping, willing them on. Some chase PBs, some carry names on their backs. They run for those they love and those they have lost – their names of their backs to push them forward.

This year, Jacqueline Roe, from Selby in North Yorkshire, will be one of them. Jacqueline is taking on her very first AJ Bell Great North Run as a deeply personal challenge—not for fundraising, not for a medal or a specific time, but for herself.

“I’ve never been a runner. A year ago, I could barely manage 30 seconds without stopping,” she says. “Now, I’m about to turn 50, and I’ll be running 13.1 miles. It’s something I never dreamed I could do.”

Her journey into running began under the darkest of clouds. Two years ago, Jacqueline’s husband tragically and unexpectedly took his own life, leaving Jacqueline and their two daughters, then aged 18 and 14.

“It was a complete shock. It took me a year just to process it, and I still don’t think I’ve fully accepted it,” she says. “A friend suggested I try running—not for fitness, but to help me cope. She said she’d never recommend something to me that wouldn’t help. So I trusted her.”

Jacqueline ran her first parkrun in January 2024, taking 50 minutes to complete the course. Now, just months later, she’s running weekly, has joined her local running club, lost four stone, and recently clocked a parkrun PB of 33 minutes.

Caption: Jacqueline Roe at the start of her running journey (L) and now (R).

“I honestly can’t believe the difference it’s made—not just to my body, but to my mental health. I’ve found a community, new friends, a way to breathe again.”

Since losing her partner Jacqueline and her daughters have raised over £10,000 for men’s mental health and child bereavement charities in memory of her husband. But this race, she says, is a personal goal.

“This is about proving to myself that I can do something hard. That I can set a goal, get through the tough bits, and finish something I never thought I could.”

To run the biggest half marathon in the world, alongside tens of thousands of others, is a dream that still feels surreal to Jacqueline. But the thought of crossing that finish line, after everything she’s been through, is something she knows will stay with her forever.

“The Great North Run is legendary,” she says. “To be part of it, after everything I’ve been through, will be one of the proudest moments of my life.”

Her advice to anyone thinking about entering?

“Do it. I’m not a natural runner, I’m still learning—but having the GNR to aim for has pushed me further than I ever thought possible. The sense of achievement will be incredible, I can’t wait.”

Some runners have done every Great North Run since 1981. For many, like Jacqueline, 2025 will be their first. They come with their stories—of strength and survival, all looking to the future.

Every one is a story, but together, we are the Great North Run.

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