Lindsay Graham, 27, of Denton Holme, Carlisle, has run the race twice before and is the club welfare officer for Carlisle-based DH Runners.

Having to sit it out this year with a heel injury, she shared her experience with entrants unfamiliar with the course.

She said: “The thing about the Great Cumbrian Run is that it's local.

“It's great to run on local streets and it's so well supported, there's something special about doing it here.

“People come out of their houses and cheer people on, they hand out jelly babies to give the runners a sugar boost and they stand ringing cowbells at the top of London Road in Carlisle.

“They go from point to point on the course – it's hard work being a supporter.”

And what about the course itself?

Lindsay said: “It's a nice size in terms of the number of runners but it starts off quite busy because there is a bit of a bottle neck in the town centre.

“The first few miles are quite tough but after mile five it gets a bit easier.

“The hill out of Rickerby Park throws you though – it's tough to pull yourself up that hill near the end of the race.”

A lot of training goes into a half marathon – and if you haven't started yet it's definitely too late.

Lindsay said: “What I've done in the past is made a training plan consisting of three runs a week, building the mileage up gradually.

“You have to include some speed sessions, some hill runs and some long runs.”

Online registration for Sunday's race has now finished – but any late entrants can sign up on the day between 8am and 9.30am at Carlisle Castle.

Competitors can collect their t-shirts and race numbers between 3pm and 7pm on Friday or from midday to 6pm on Saturday at the Sands Centre. Alternatively, they can be collected from the starting point on the race day.

Entrants are asked to gather at least a half hour before the 10am start.

Pay and display parking will be available at The Sands Centre or at the Devonshire Walk car park in Bitts Park.

There will be a 1km fun run for families and children on Sunday morning at 9am in Bitts Park, in which about 600 people are expected to participate.