Weather forecast for the Great North Run 2019: Temperatures set to be cooler than last year

Construction work in South Shields on the Great North Run 2019's finish line.

The 39th annual event takes place on Sunday, September 8, with competitors completing the 13.1m course between Newcastle and South Shields.

Last year's race - held at the end of an unusually hot summer - saw many seasoned runners post slower than normal times because of the sweltering heat.

So will the weather be kinder to them this weekend?

The Great North Run tented village begins to appear in South Shields for the September 8 race.

Experts at the Met Office estimate that runners will face a mixture of cloudy and sunny conditions when the race begins in Newcastle at 10.40am.

Crucially, temperatures are not expected to exceed 15 degrees Celsius - at least five degrees cooler than during the bulk of the 2018 race.

At around 12.30pm, when many runners expecting to finish around the two-hour mark will reach South Shields, temperatures are again expected to hover around 15 degrees Celsius and remain dry but cloudy.

The Met Office estimates that there is only a 10% chance of any rainfall during the race.

Wind directions are also expected to be generally in runners' favour.

Westerlies with speeds of 16 miles per hour will help competitors along the Heworth and Felling bypasses between miles three and just before the six mile mark and again on John Reid Road and Prince Edward Road between around miles nine and 12.

Elsewhere on the course, including the final mile along the coast, there are likely to be gentle cross winds.