Elite and charity runners counting down hours until Great North Run
The countdown is well and truly on ahead of this Sunday's Great North Run.
Tens of thousands of people will take on the famous 13.1 mile course, from the world's best elite runners to amateurs taking on a challenge or raising money for charity.
This year's race will be slightly different, with one of the most iconic parts of the route, the Tyne Bridge, off limits to spectators due to ongoing maintenance work.
For some though, the Great North Run this year will hold extra poignancy as they run in tribute to lost friends and family.
Charity runners
Gail and Matthew Rich will be running in memory of their daughter Nicole, who died last October from Batten Disease, which has no cure. She would normally cheer her parents on from the Bridge as they raise money for 'The Nicole and Jessica Rich Foundation', raising money for her and her sister, Jessica, who also has the disease.
Batten Disease is an extremely rare life-limiting genetic condition. It causes progressive deterioration of the brain and nervous system.
Devastatingly, both sisters were diagnosed with the same disease - which is inherited when both parents are unaffected carriers - in 2016.
Talking ahead of the race, Matthew said: "This is the first year she [Nicole] won't be on the Bridge to cheer us on, like she always did every year. So this year she'll be with us. If it gets tough on the run, I'll be thinking of her and she'll get us through those difficult times."
Nicole's mum, Gail, added: "We've got her photograph on our backs in her memory and we had no idea this was what this year would bring [with Nicole's death].
"We have a lot of friends' children running in the children's race and even they're aware of the, sort of, poignancy of this year. They're saying it's going to be strange because we won't be cheering Nicole over the line.
"It's going to be hard but we'll make her proud and keep going for her."
As is the case every year, a huge number of charities will be represented, with people running to raise money for a range of different causes.
Dr Bill Chaudhry and Professor Deborah Henderson, researchers at Newcastle University for the British Heart Foundation, are running for the charity they already do lifesaving work for.
Talking about their day jobs, Professor Henderson explained: "We work on congenital heart defects. Around one in 100 babies is born with some sort of congenital heart defect, and sometimes it can make them ill for the whole of their lives."
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There will be roughly 11,000 people running for the charity.
Talking about people's efforts, Professor Henderson added: "It's really, really important that charities like the British Heart Foundation raise this money."
Dr Chaudry admitted he "doesn't like running" but said "it's one of those things you've got to do if you're up here."
However, the preparation has not been completely plain sailing for the pair.
Dr Chaudry said: "I've done a bit of training. Deb has done less training and has now got a stress fracture, so she's not been training at all. She's going to be running for the first time on Sunday.
"We're just going to try to look good, enjoy it and cross the line together."
They certainly will not be alone in just hoping to make it to the finish line.
Elite races
However, there is also an elite field of world class athletes vying to win the iconic race. The men's field, which sets off at the same time as the general public, includes Olympic silver medallist Berihu Aregawi and 2024 Boston Marathon winner Sisay Lemma.
Meanwhile, six times world champion and three times Olympic medallist Vivian Cheruiyot will be in the elite women's race. She has also won the Great North Run twice already.
Lining up alongside her will be Eilish McColgan, the Commonwealth Games champion and 10km British record holder.
She also has a special family connection to the race. Her mum is renowned Scottish runner Liz McColgan, who ran it many times herself.
Talking to ITV Tyne Tees, she said: "I've definitely got my mum's time in my mind. It would be great to obviously beat her best time on this course, especially with it being the exact same course that she ran in the 90s. So there's something really special and unique about that. I'm really excited to just be part of such an iconic event like this."
Another element of the race is that a renowned north east hero is usually given the honour of starting the race.
In this Olympic year, that privilege has fallen to Kieran Reilly from Gateshead, who won BMX silver in Paris.
Sir Brendan Foster, founder and chairman of the Great North Run, explained how Kieran was chosen to get proceedings underway.
He said: "I met him at the Newcastle match and he said 'Oh my god, I'd love to do that.' His mum's running, he's doing the start. He's come up early to do a few stunts to show us and he's got a couple of stunts to show on Sunday morning. So yeah, he's a star."
Sunday's schedule
Racing gets underway shortly before half 10 on Sunday morning, with the elite wheelchair race.
The elite women's race begins five minutes later, at 10:30.
The elite men and the first wave of amateur runners start at 10:55.
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