Football legend laces up again for Sir Bobby’s Team

A footballing legend is pulling on a special shirt for this year’s Great North Run to help complete a £30 million cancer research centre in Newcastle.

Former Sunderland AFC manager Peter Reid will join Sir Bobby’s Team at the AJ Bell Great North Run on September 13, raising money for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity.

Peter played for England under Sir Bobby Robson at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and will be among supporters wearing specially designed football-themed Sir Bobby’s Team T-shirts for the first time.

All funds raised by the foundation’s runners this year will go towards completing the Sir Bobby Robson Institute at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital.

The world-leading cancer drug trials centre will be fully funded by the foundation and is expected to increase the number of clinical trials available to patients across the region.

The institute will enable pioneering cancer treatments and directly benefit around 3.5 million people across the North East, North Cumbria and North Yorkshire, while supporting research with the potential for global impact.

Peter will be joined on the start line by a team including cancer patients, clinical trials researchers, members of Sir Bobby’s family and construction workers involved in building the institute.

Many will be running in recognition of loved ones receiving cancer treatment or in memory of those lost to the disease.

Peter, who celebrated his 70th birthday in June, says: “I last did the Great North Run when I was at Sunderland. 

“In fact, I think I wore a red and white shirt with a monkey’s head on the back to wind up the Newcastle fans!

“I also started the run alongside Sir Bobby, which was very special.

“I’ve done a few 10ks over the years but when I heard about The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, and everything it’s trying to do building this new institute, I wanted to help.

“My 70th feels like a landmark, and I quite like working towards goals so this felt right.

“You read so many things about cancer and obviously we lost Sir Bobby and more recently Kevin Keegan to it. Really, you think, there but for the grace of God go I.

“My daughter had cervical cancer and thankfully her treatment was successful but cancer is something we all live with.

“We can fight against cancer together and I’m proud to be running for Sir Bobby’s Foundation. 

“He was a wonderful man, a really warm man who was always great with me. 

“It will be an honour to do the Great North Run for his charity.”

Fundraising for the institute has already reached £28.5 million, leaving £1.5 million to secure the £30 million target.

An initial £20 million was raised through long-standing supporters and fundraisers, with founding donors including The Barbour Foundation helping take the campaign closer to completion.

The Sir Bobby Robson Institute will build on the foundation’s longstanding support for cancer research, providing facilities to develop and test new treatments while expanding access to early-stage clinical trials.

Mark Robson, Sir Bobby’s son and chair of The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, added: “The Great North Run is important to us every year, but there’s no doubt this time will be extra special for our runners as we push hard to finish fundraising for the Sir Bobby Robson Institute.

“Dad called his foundation his “last and greatest team,” and we’re very grateful to everyone taking on this challenge for us.

“It’s especially meaningful that, 40 years after playing for Dad at the World Cup in Mexico, Peter is still playing a key part in his team. 

“We love the idea of all our runners running under the banner of Sir Bobby’s Team and hope they all love our football style running t-shirts as much as we do.”

This year’s Great North Run will see around 63,000 participants tackle the famous half-marathon route from Newcastle to South Shields.

To sponsor Peter in the Great North Run, click here.

For more information about the Sir Bobby Robson Institute, click here.

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