Sunderland charity allocated no places in junior Great North Run

A charity allocated no places in this year’s Junior and Mini Great North Runs, when it usually gets up to 400, said it was “heartbreaking” having to tell hundreds of children they could not take part.

Sunderland-based Red Sky Foundation, which supports young people and adults with complex heart conditions, said it now felt “excluded” from the 1.5km (0.75 miles) and 4km (2.48 miles) events.

The Great Run Company (GRC) said no charity was excluded, or banned, from its events and said demand this year had been the “biggest we’ve ever seen”.

“Each year we work positively and constructively with over 900 charity partners across the Great North Run weekend,” it said.

Places for the runs are allocated either on an individual basis or in blocks assigned to charities.

The Red Sky Foundation said by the time discussions concluded, it had been too late for runners wanting to support the charity to apply as individuals.

“It came as a devastating shock to us,” chief executive Sergio Petrucci said. “It seems incomprehensible why that opportunity be taken away from us.”

Petrucci said the charity was told complaints had been made about its participation in previous years and that it was too “big”.

Petrucci said he had asked GRC what the charity had done wrong and how it could resolve the issues in the future, but the run organiser said it could not give further information without revealing the identities of complainants.

The BBC understands the complaints relate to the noise and scale of the charity at the events.

Petrucci, who founded the charity after his daughter had life-saving heart surgery, said the children had been looking forward to the event.

“I truly am heartbroken for them,” he said. “The feedback from their parents, schoolteachers and coaches is devastating.”

Beth Graham, from Fulwell, whose seven-year-old daughter Heidi had planned to run for the charity for the first time this year, said she had “always wanted to do it”.

“We were really disappointed,” she said. “I had been building it up because her friends and cousins had done it previous years.”

Joseph, 10, and from Newcastle, has completed the junior event twice before and said he did it because he has “a good heart”.

“It was really sad. I really like doing good things for Red Sky and it’s really a big shame,” he said.

Petrucci said he hoped to be able to work with GRC for the 2027 event.

GRC said there were a number of factors that determine the number of charity places available and both events had “sold out in just a few weeks, six months earlier than last year”.

“We are actively exploring options to increase the event capacity in the future,” a spokesperson said.

The company said the Red Sky Foundation had asked for 400 places for this year’s junior and mini events, which was “turned down”, but said it had not received any further request for places from the charity.

The BBC has seen an email to the foundation in which GRC said a decision not to reveal more details on the complaints made about the foundation was to protect confidentiality.

GRC said the complaints related to the charity’s conduct during its “activation” in both 2024 and 2025. The BBC understands that can include activity during pre-race build-up and campaigns on the day.