Stephen's affectionate portraits of the runners, spectators and staff at the 2005 BUPA Great North, Tesco Junior and Tesco Mini Runs were displayed on 20 billboards along the route of the BUPA Great North Run in Newcastle, Gateshead and South Shields and in an exhibition at Trinity Gardens on Newcastle's Quayside.

Stephen Gill’s photographs focus on the quiet, inbetween moments of everyday life,the scenes that are often invisible to us, the faces that pass us by.  Jon Ronson says "Stephen Gill takes photographs of those small moments that most of us miss."

Arriving in the North East on the Friday before the 2005 Run, Gill saw the final days' build of the finish area take shape, with tiered seating rigged up, the coils of cables used by outside broadcasters, the ghostly marquees waiting to be populated, the boxes of food supplies and specially constructed kitchen areas. He met crew who had been working for days building this miniature village and families who were starting to arrive at the nearby campsite, with children who would run in the Junior and Mini events on the Saturday and parents who take part on the Sunday. Gill found this set up fascinating. "Seeing the skeleton of the event reminded you of what went into it, how many things that had to happen to make it function smoothly.”

In many of the photographs, there is little obvious sign of the Great North Run, perhaps a sponsor’s logo or a cluster of charity balloons. Gill was keen not to show people what they were expecting. One his favourite images is of a young man in a white plastic suit at the start of the run, which captures the anticipation and nervousness felt by so many. "You can see so much in it. There’s a banana skin at his foot, he’s wearing new trainers and a white jumpsuit. He’s obviously so prepared. You can imagine the pasta he had for dinner the night before, the early start he had. He’s deep in thought about what’s lying ahead of him.”  

There is a significant number of photographs of people standing on the sidelines, waiting. These spectators may be biding their time while family finish a run, such as the mother and daughter outside the Newcastle Law Courts. Others, like the man on the swing bridge, could be out for the day, taking in the spectacle. There are the people of South Shields, standing outside their homes as one of the world’s largest public sporting events passes by their front doors. As they face the camera, Gill has allowed the subjects’ own gestures and emotions to creep through without directing them or communicating with them too much. We realise we recognise these people but have never stopped long enough to see them before.

The final selection of photographs reflect his interest, with portraits of the often unseen or unnoticed staff from the kitchen, security and parking control, alongside shots of spectators and runners. Instead of trying to capture every aspect of such a large-scale public event, Gill’s photograph’s offer an insight into the behind the scenes workings, as if we get to peep backstage at a theatre.