The British Prime Minister Andy Burnham completed the world’s largest half marathon in under two hours on Sunday.

The 56-year-old politician, who succeeded Sir Kier Starmer as Labour leader in the summer, is a keen runner and has completed the Great North Run — a renowned 13.1 mile (21 kilometre) race in Newcastle — on previous occasions.

But on Sunday he became the first serving leader of the United Kingdom to do it, and even finished the course which goes from the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne to South Shields in 1 hour 57 minutes and 34 seconds.

Wearing the number 10, a reference to the prime minister’s residence on Downing Street, Burnham did not beat his previous personal best from 2021, when he ran 1:55:39, according to Runners World.

Interviewed by the BBC afterwards, he said he was delighted with his time, and the overall experience of joining more than 63,000 other runners.

“You do have to be happy with that,” he said, when asked about his sub-two-hour finish, a popular target for recreational runners. “It was pretty good, I must say. I love it, it was just a brilliant occasion.

“So many people out there, such positivity, you see the causes people were running for all and pulling together for the bigger cause. It’s just a day that reminds you how good this country is when it’s together like this.”

“I loved it. It’s just a brilliant occasion” 👏

Prime Minister Andy Burnham took part in the Great North Run today and completed it in under two hours ⏱️ pic.twitter.com/n4AzHw6vfT

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 13, 2026

Burnham, accompanied by his close security protection officers, added: “It’s the best of British, the Great North run, isn’t it?

“I felt that a few times with the Red Arrows (the Royal Air Force aerial display team) going past. This is the place to be.

“People said to me: ‘Keep doing do what you’ve always done even though you’re in the big job’ and I’ve been in this race a few years so I thought I’d carry on, be with people and support what Sir Brendan (British former Olympic medalist Sir Brendan Foster who founded the race in 1981) has built.

“It’s an incredible thing, isn’t it?”

He even had time to joke with reporters afterwards about the short running shorts he was photographed wearing on training runs earlier this summer before becoming prime minister.

“I left my indecent running shorts at home so at least I spared the people of the North East that,” he said. “They’re at home, and I bought some new ones.”

Burnham (left) is a keen runner and has taken part in multiple events before such as the London Marathon in 2014 (Inci Gundag/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Burnham raised money for homeless charity Changing Lives.

It is not the first time he has run long distance for charity. The father-of-three ran the London Marathon while serving as shadow Health Secretary in 2014. Then in 2019, he ran the world-renowned Boston Marathon to raise money for charities supporting victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack, the city where he was previously metro Mayor.

Asked if he would consider running next year’s London Marathon, he added: “I tried that once. I think a half I can do but a full one? I’ll be there in spirit. We’ll see how it goes.”

England football defender and Newcastle captain Dan Burn rang the starter’s bell for a race which raises around £25million ($33.81m) for charity every year.