The AJ Bell Great North Run has unveiled its 2025 medal in collaboration with Newcastle-based artist Howard Lee, giving runners a first glimpse of the reward awaiting them at the finish line on 7 September.

For 44 years, the Great North Run has celebrated ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and this year’s medal design reflects that spirit. Howard, an ‘art of illusion’ specialist, has built a global reputation for his ‘Real vs Fake’ style, which first gained attention online in 2015 and later featured on television.

The 2025 medal incorporates the iconic Tyne Bridge alongside lines from We are the Great North Run, a poem by George Caulkin, North East Sports Correspondent for The Athletic/New York Times and a regular participant in the event.

Describing the creative process, Howard says: “Because my work is viewed in video form, there are a lot of ways to experiment with creating illusions or playing around with perception. Realism is already a type of artistic illusion but the video creates a certain way of seeing it, adding another level for the audience. The depiction of the Tyne Bridge and surrounding poetry took quite a lot of colour mixing. I feel very privileged to have been involved in the process of revealing this year’s medal, it really is quite a striking design.”

This September, 60,000 runners will take on the 13.1-mile course from city to sea, cheered on by more than 200,000 spectators lining the streets. Every runner has their own story, but together, they embody the spirit captured in this year’s medal and the mantra of the event: We are the Great North Run.

If you'd like to know more about the 2026 event, visit the Great North Run website.

Image: Great Run Company