Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian former long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Championship titles over the 10,000 metres. Haile triumphed in the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. Further to this, he earned four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion.
Meseret Defar Tola is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes chiefly in the 3000 metres and 5000 metres events. She has won medals at top-tier international competitions including Olympic and World Championship gold medals over 5000 metres. She broke the world record in the event in 2006, broke it again in 2007 and held it until 2008, when fellow Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba beat her time.
Sir Brendan Foster is a British former long-distance runner, athletics commentator and road race organiser. He founded the Great North Run, one of the sport's most high profile half-marathon races. As an athlete, he won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the gold medal in the 5,000 metres at the 1974 European Championships and the 10,000 metres at the 1978 Commonwealth Games. He later provided commentary and analysis on athletics, particularly long-distance events, for BBC Sport.
Gateshead International Stadium (GIS) is a multi-purpose, all-seater venue in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. Originally known as the Gateshead Youth Stadium, the venue was built in 1955 at a cost of £30,000. It has since been extensively re-developed on three occasions. Its capacity of around 11,800 is the greatest in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, the third-largest in Tyne and Wear, and the sixth-largest in North East England.
Tracey Jane McAndrew, known as Nell McAndrew, is an English glamour model, TV presenter and fitness trainer. She is also an accomplished amateur athlete, with a marathon personal best time of 2:54:39.
David Robert Moorcroft is a former middle-distance and long-distance runner from England, and former world record holder for 5,000 metres. His athletic career spanned the late-1970s and 1980s. He subsequently served as the Chief Executive of UK Athletics from 1997 to 2007. He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1983 and promoted to an Officer (OBE) in 1999, in both cases for services to athletics. In March 2023, he was appointed a Deputy lieutenant of the West Midlands.
Tirunesh Dibaba is an Ethiopian athlete who competed in long-distance track events and international road races. She has won three Olympic track gold medals, five World Championship track gold medals, four individual World Cross Country (WCC) adult titles, and one individual WCC junior title. Tirunesh was the 5000 metres world record holder until 2020 when Letesenbet Gidey set her world record. She is nicknamed the "Baby Faced Destroyer."
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah is a British-Somali retired long-distance runner. Considered one of the greatest runners of all time, his ten global championship gold medals make him the most successful male track distance runner ever, and he is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history. Farah is the first ever global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Organisation for Migration as announced on 28 November 2023 at the 114th Session of the IOM Council.
Maria Manuela Machado is a former Portuguese long-distance runner, who was particularly successful when running the marathon. Unlike many other marathoners, she did not focus on running lucrative city marathons. Instead, she participated in major competitions.
Benjamin Basil Heatley was a British competitive long-distance runner, who was an Olympic marathon silver medallist and former world marathon record-holder. Although he favoured cross country running, he was also a skilled marathon runner and, despite running shoe technology being in its infancy, he was able to adapt easily to the change of conditions underfoot.
Junko Asari is a retired Japanese marathon runner.
Tomoe Abe is a retired Japanese ultramarathon and marathon runner who won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 1993 World Championships with a time of 2:31:01. Her personal best time is 2:26:09, achieved when she won the 1994 Osaka Ladies' Marathon.
The Great South Run is an annual 10 mile (16.09 km) road running race which takes place in Portsmouth, United Kingdom providing an intermediate distance between the ten kilometre and the half marathon (21.097 km) runs. Launched in 1990, it is part of the Great Run series created by former British athlete Brendan Foster. It was originally held in Southampton, but the race moved to its current course after the first edition.
Charlotte Purdue is a British long-distance runner who competes in the Marathon and Half Marathon, as well as cross country running for Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletics Club. After winning a number of youth titles at national level, she had her first international success at the European Cross Country Championships, winning medals in the junior races of 2007 and 2008. She was also the best European junior at the World Cross Country Championships those years.
Eilish McColgan is a Scottish middle- and long-distance runner. She is the 2022 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres champion with the Games record, and 5000 metres silver medallist. McColgan is a four-time European Championships medallist, winning silver medals for the 5000 m in 2018 and 10,000 m in 2022, bronze in the 5000 m in 2022, and a bronze for the indoor 3000 metres in 2017. She is the European record holder for the 10 km road race, and the British record holder for the 5000 m, 10,000 m, 5 km and half marathon. She also holds the European best in the 10 miles on the roads.
Almaz Ayana Eba is an Ethiopian female long-distance runner. She won the gold medal in the 10,000 metres and bronze for the 5000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Almaz is a four-time World Athletics Championships medallist earning a bronze for the 5000m in 2013, gold at the event in 2015 as well as gold in the 10,000m and silver for the 5000m in 2017.
Sifan Hassan is an Ethiopian-born Dutch middle- and long-distance runner. She is most recognized for her versatility in running championship and world leading performances in widely disparate distances. She completed an unprecedented triple at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, winning gold medals in both the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres and a bronze medal for the 1500 metres. Hassan is the only athlete in Olympic history to win medals across a middle-distance event and both long-distance races in a single Games. She is only the second woman to complete an Olympic distance double.
Tigst Assefa Tessema is an Ethiopian long-distance runner and the marathon female world record holder. She is the only woman in history to run a marathon in under two hours 12 minutes and two hours 13 minutes. She has competed in and won two top-tier World Marathon Majors, both in Berlin. A former 800 metres specialist, Tigst was the first woman to break 2:00 in the event and 2:20:00 in the marathon, and remains the only woman under 2:00 and 2:13:00, respectively.
Letesenbet Gidey is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who holds two world records and one world best. In the 10,000 metres, she is the 2020 Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist, 2019 World silver medallist, and 2022 World champion.
Jane Welzel was a pioneering long-distance runner who advocated for women to be added to the sport.
