Mo won't be on his own this year - lining up alongside him will be his wife Tania.

I say alongside him, Tania will probably end up rather far behind her superstar hubby, although she told BBC One that she tried to convince him to forego the racing and run beside her.

She didn't get her way.

Image source, Getty Images

Next up will be the return of Mo Farah, who is looking for his third straight Great North Run title.

But quite a lot has happened since he took the 2015 crown.

The 33-year-old secured the 5,000m/10,000m double at the Rio Olympics in August, repeating his feats from London 2012. 

Can he become the first man to win three GNRs? I wouldn't bet against it...

Paula Radcliffe
Women's marathon world record holder on BBC One

It’s just taking some time to settle into the race, the first mile is slightly downhill so usually it would be a little quicker than that, I think it’s going to be up to someone like Priscah Jeptoo to push the tempo a little. 

They’re certainly not setting off at a pace to challenge the course record.

Steve Cram
BBC athletics commentator on BBC One

If we’re thinking about times on a day like this, the course record is Mary Jepkosgei Keitany's 65:39 minutes in 2014, although I don’t think we’ll break that today.

The women are underway, with the road all to themselves...

The wheelchair race has now set off, meaning that the 2016 Great North Run is officially underway!

We'll have the elite women starting in five minutes, with the men getting going at 10:40 BST.

Tune in via BBC One on the link above. 

Claire Lomas, a paralysed woman who completed the London Marathon in a "bionic" suit, began the run on Wednesday, has just finished.

The 36-year-old will be the first person to take on the Great North Run using a robotic suit, which she has competed in since a horse riding accident left her paralysed from the chest down in 2007.

She broke her neck, back and ribs and punctured a lung when her horse threw her off as she took part in the Osberton Horse Trials in Nottinghamshire.

What an achievement. Well done Claire! 

Think you can’t run? Surprise yourself.  

BBC Get Inspired has teamed up with Public Health England’s One You campaign to bring you the Couch to 5K programme.  

Just because you don’t run doesn’t mean you can’t. If you can walk for half an hour, chances are that you can pick up the pace and give running or jogging a try.  

Click here to find out more. 

As I mentioned earlier, Terry Deary is here to run his 20th Great North Run today, at the age of 70. ("Veteran sounds better than an old git," he just told Gabby Logan on BBC One!)

Deary is a legend after creating Horrible Histories, and above is his story of the Great North Run start line's own gruesome past...

Paula Radcliffe
Women's marathon world record holder on BBC One

There’s so much history that goes into people getting to this race, there’s not another sport where you will get that.

Tom Gayle
Our man on the course

Some have been heading to the start line from where I am at the Tyne Bridge...

Chris Carmichael (right) is doing his first Great North Run and Lee Mowson (left) is back again after doing it last year. 

Both are self-confessed non-runners but are aiming to raise lots of money!

Adrian Brown (left) and Carl Barnard (right) are not running this weekend but fundraising for Get Kids Going, external!

Carl has done the last six Great North Runs but is injured and Adrian is hopeful to return as a runner next year.

As always, there's an array of stars taking to the streets of Newcastle today. Here are just some of the celebs you can try and spot:

• Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson, running for the Graham Wylie Foundation.
• Comedian Jon Culshaw, for the Jon Egging Trust.

• Nell McAndrew for Alzheimer's Society and Cancer Research UK.
• Ex-footballers Kevin Kilbane, Kevin Davies, Steve Stone and Michael Gray.
• Terry Deary of Horrible Histories fame (more on him later!)

Send in your snaps from the course if you bump into anybody famous, at #getinspired.

Gabby Logan will be picking up the microphone and getting us rolling over on BBC One imminently. Tune in on the link above, or on channel one on your telebox if that's what you prefer.

Image source, Getty Images

Mo Farah is looking for a third straight Great North Run title today, and he is the standout name in the elite men's field, although there's plenty of competition to keep him on his toes. 

Compatriot Chris Thompson won the Great Birmingham Run in 2015, and has a personal best of 61 minutes, less than two minutes less than Farah, while the USA's Dathun Ritzenhein is a three-time Olympian with a PB of 60 minutes on the dot.

Kenya's Emmanuel Bett is also predicted to figure - he won the Great South Run in 2013.

View the full field here., external

Image source, Getty Images

Two of distance running's all-time greats will go head-to-head in the female elite race, with Kenya's Vivian Cheruiyot and Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba renewing their rivalry. 

Although the two women were pipped to Olympic gold in Rio, where Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana pushed them into second and third respectively, between them they have won nearly every gold medal worth winning in the sport.

Gemma Steel will lead the British charge, while Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo and Joyce Chepkirui should be there or thereabouts come the final sprint into South Shields.

View the full field here., external

The elite races kick off at 10:10 BST, and Bret Crossley will be looking to adapt well to the longer format  after finishing second in the Great Manchester Run over 10km.

He'll face stiff competition in a predominantly British field, with Mark Telford and Callum Hall expected to feature at the front.

View the full field here., external

In a word, lots. 

Aside from the GreatCity Games, which you can read all about here, we had the mini and junior competitions, sprints... and the pasta party. Wondering what a pasta party is? So was I this morning, but I'm afraid you'll have to be patient for now.

Check out some of Saturday's highlights below.

BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Anna Foster has been out on the course early this morning, checking that everything is ready!

Image source, Great North Run

Not only are 178 nations represented in the 57,000 people taking part, but the Great North Run has been attracting some rather prestigious attention, not least UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, who took time out form his busy schedule to wish everybody taking part all the best.

"The Great North Run is a true celebration of humanity," he says. Quite right too.