54,000 people line up this weekend at the start of the 30th Bupa Great North Run – equalling last year’s record entry. Mark Summers sets the scene for Sunday’s spectacular and meets some the participants.

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IT is said to be the most iconic halfmarathon on the planet and this weekend it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

The Bupa Great North Run, which will draw runners to the region from all over the world, has become a national institution, a fixture in the calendar as eagerly awaited as the FA Cup final.

The classic view of the tide of humanity swarming across the Tyne Bridge is still inspiring after three decades.

This year, 54,000 people will be taking that journey, about the same number as last year’s record entry, and each will have a story to tell.

Reigning champion Martin Lel has been forced to withdraw from the run through injury. The Kenyan would have faced the Ethiopian legend Haile Gebrselassie.

Germany’s Irina Mikitenko has pulled out of the women’s race with a cold.

Aside from the athletic feats of the professional runners, there are the amazing performances of the wheelchair athletes and amateur runners who are taking part to raise money for a cause close to their heart.

Many will be wearing fancy dress, including people dressed as waiters, pieces of fruit and pantomime camels.

Many will be doing the run because they have lost a friend or loved one to a disease, or as a thank-you for medical treatment that changed their lives.

Cancer Research UK has 2,700 men and women taking part, including several cancer survivors and EastEnders star Jake Wood, who plays Max Branning in the BBC1 TV soap.

A team of 90 runners will be supporting the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK, wearing red T-shirts featuring the World Cup-winning England captain’s legendary Number Six.

Laurence Gunn, 38, from Barnard Castle, will run for the charity dressed as Daddy Pig from children’s TV show Peppa Pig.

Mr Gunn has lost family members to cancer and this will be his sixth Bupa Great North Run, though his first in fancy dress.

He said: “I have done a lot of training for the run, but only a couple of sessions dressed as Daddy Pig. It’s not the kind of outfit you can wear to the gym in the evening to use the treadmill.

It was hilarious when I took it for a test run around Barnard Castle.

“People walking dogs on the riverside were a bit taken aback as I bade them good morning while running past.”

Forty students and staff from Durham Sixth Form Centre, in Durham City, were so inspired when staff from The Stroke Association spoke to them about the condition, they decided to raise money for the charity.

Director of learning Richard Miller said: “The students were really motivated. It’s one of the biggest events we’ve taken part in.”

Keen runners from Newcastle University will be turning out in force.

Among them, Helen Doyle and Linda Robinson, of the staff development unit, along with more than 30 of their friends and family members, will be running for Epilepsy Action in memory of Helen’s daughter, Katy.

Last year’s X Factor winner Joe McElderry, from South Shields, is running for the Teenage Cancer Trust, model and TV presenter Nell McAndrew is running to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society.

Vicky Binns, better known to millions as Molly Dobbs, in Coronation Street, will be raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

Among regional celebrities running are BBC Look North weather presenter Hannah Bayman together with several Radio Five Live presenters, including Vassos Alexander, George Riley, Rachael Hodges and Phil Williams.

National TV personalities include Emma Crosby, of GMTV, ESPN live Premier League presenter Ray Stubbs and John Middleton, Emmerdale’s the Reverend Ashley Thomas.

Two members of staff from The Northern Echo will be pounding the streets from Newcastle to South Shields.

Bishop Auckland reporter Rachel Wearmouth, 27, from Crook, County Durham, and photographer Chris Booth, 34, from Darlington, are both hoping to raise at least £300 each for the Red Cross.

Rachel said: “The atmosphere on the day is brilliant and the training a great way to keep fit.”

Their fundraising pages are justgiving.com/ rachelwearmouth and justgiving.com/ Christopher-Booth1.

Now they call me Jimmy No Bellies

THE best friend of football legend Paul Gascoigne has shed more than eight stone and is set to run the Great North Run.

Jimmy “Five Bellies” Gardner tipped the scales at 21½ stone, but has slimmed down to a healthy 13 stone.

And this weekend the 44-year-old – once famed for boozing and eating junk food – will wear the number 555 to run the world’s most popular half-marathon.

Former England star Gazza will be cheering him on from the sidelines on Sunday.

Mr Gardner, from Dunston, Gateshead, is taking part to raise money for the late Sir Bobby Robson’s cancer charity.

He has had his sights set on the run for the past 15 months, cutting back on alcohol and pies and attending a gym at the Gateshead’s Marriott Hotel seven days a week.

So confident is he of his newfound fitness, he has decided to train for the London Marathon once Sunday’s mammoth challenge is done and dusted.

Mr Gardener, a childhood friend of Gazza, the former Newcastle, Spurs and England midfielder, said: “I was 21½ stone last February and now I’m down to 13.

“I want to get rid of my bad reputation.

It’s been a big change of lifestyle.

I’ve not been drinking, but on Sunday night, I‘ll probably go out and get smashed to celebrate.”