All the best of luck to our Team 100 runners for today! We know you’ll do well and you will certainly do us proud!

Many thanks to everyone who has supported us and the runners themselves for their dedication to training and fundraising efforts. Don’t forget, they’re all subscribing to run 13 miles for our chosen charity!

Here are some final tips and reminders, courtesy of Bupa, whilst you get your bags packed and your running vests out! It looks like its going to be a mild day, with the chance of a light shower mid-morning, so please take this into account. Now hurry up, you’ve only got a few hours left!!

Hydration

You should start the race well hydrated and if you are not then drink half a pint (250ml) of water or sports drink in the half hour before the start. Do not be greedy and take extra bottles of drinking water to pour over yourself; as you may be depriving slower runners of much needed drinks.

Drinking Safely

It’s a balancing act. Drinking too little can lead to problems, as you need to replace some of the fluid you lose as sweat. Drinking much too much can be very dangerous and lead to hyponatraemia, (water intoxication) fits, and in rare cases, death. Drink when you feel the need and DO NOT gulp large volumes of fluids before, during or after the race. Here’s a rough drinking guide — your needs vary with your build, your speed, and above all the weather, as these affect how much you sweat.

Faster runners on a warm day may need as much as a litre of fluid per hour (2 pints). Slower runners should need less, particularly on a cool day and should not drink more than 500 ml per hour. Please check your course maps for details of drink station locations (sponsored by Aqua-Pura water and Powerade).

Please take care when disposing of your used bottles and pouches. Discard them at the side of the road when you get an opportunity, as they can be hazardous to runners behind you.

You should not gulp down all the water at once, just swallow a mouthful of water occasionally. After the finish DO NOT drink large amounts of water. You can only rehydrate gradually over the next 24–48 hours. Eat some salty food as well as spacing your drinks — you will replace water, salt and glycogen depleted during your run.

Eat Sensibly

Generally, eat what suits you! Large doses of supplementary vitamins and minerals (such as iron) are not essential and produce no benefit if you are on a good mixed diet, but additional vitamin C in small doses is reasonable when fresh fruit and vegetables are in short supply. Training (with adequate rest) helps you to sustain a high level of muscle glycogen if you eat enough carbohydrate.

If you can, eat within two hours of finishing your long runs and your event. This helps to replace used glycogen quickly, and speeds recovery.

Feeling fit?

Do not run if you feel unwell or have just been unwell, even if you are raising money for charity. Most medical emergencies occur in people who have been unwell but do not wish to miss the event. If you feel feverish, have been vomiting, have had severe diarrhoea or any chest pains, or otherwise feel unwell. It is unfair to you, your family, your sponsoring charity and the Great Run support staff to risk serious illness and become a medical emergency. You are unlikely to do yourself justice. There are many other runs you will be able to do.

Clothing

Wear appropriate clothes for the weather. On a cold, wet day you can become very cold if you reduce your running pace or walk. A hat and gloves will prevent heat loss and are easily carried. If it is hot, wear loose mesh clothing, start slowly and, if possible, run in the shade. Use shoes that you are sure will not give you blisters.

At the Finish

Do not stand about getting cold. Keep walking, especially if you feel dizzy, and drink to replace lost liquid. Go to the baggage area as soon as you can, get your kit and change into warm, dry clothing, and then go to the reunion area. Foil blankets should only be used as a temporary measure to stop you from becoming cold.

Continue drinking slowly and have something to eat. Some runners feel faint more than half an hour after finishing the race, often because they have taken insufficient fluid and/or not eaten anything.

Again DO NOT DRINK EXCESSIVELY.

These tips are from the recommended advice of a group of national race doctors and race organisers who have been brought together to deal with Runners Welfare issues by Bupa for the Great North Run.