Here is one veteran plodder's mile-by-mile guide to what competitors should expect on September 8 along the half-marathon course.
5. Mile Five
Warning: That incline we were just discussing? It continues beyond the five-mile marker. Good job there's another water station along the way. Photo: Tim Richardson
6. Mile Six
"Hallelujah" say these 2008 runners. The highest point along the course is conquered and the course flattens out as it veers left off the A184 at Whitemare Pool towards South Shields. Photo: CA
7. Mile Seven
An often inspirational moment as the halfway markers appear on the side of the course. Pass them and you have less to go than you have already completed. Photo: Picture by Peter Berry
8. Mile Nine
A right turn onto the A1300 John Reid Road can be testing as the crowds begin to briefly thin out. Get this mile ticked off though and you are more than two-thirds of the way there. Photo: KB Sunderland Echo