ATHLETES are gearing up for this Sunday's ten mile race. The Great South Run will see hundreds of Southampton runners head to Portsmouth for the annual event. This year celebrities will include comedian Steven Mangan and Welsh sprinter Iwan Thomas MBE.

Hundreds of runners will be raising money for charity - including Southampton Pride volunteer Lou Cobbold - who has set up a crowdfunding page to raise cash for Southampton Pride.

The 47 year old stage manager from Bitterne will be taking on her biggest running challenge to date - after taking on the Southampton 10k this year.

She said: "I'm going to be a mess! But I'm trying to raise a bit of awareness. Everyone considers Pride as a summer event but we are working all year round. It's not just a summer event."

An organisational blip with this year's Great South Run meant some runners received their number with Portsmouth spelt incorrectly.

But a run spokesperson said: "It was spelt incorrectly on a small selection of the mini race numbers for three to eight year olds. "We reprinted the numbers and sent them out."

Now organisers have issued advice on how to get to the event as they get ready for Sunday's race.

They said Southsea Common car parking and the information point will be open from 7am.

At 7.30am the baggage room opens at the Pyramid Centre.

At 10.15am the Simplyhealth Great South Run elite women’s race starts.

At 10.19am fast self-propelled wheelchairs and visually impaired runners will set off.

And at 10.35am the Simplyhealth Great South Run elite men will start.

Runners should plan to arrive in the city by 8am.

Pier Road, Clarence Esplanade and Avenue de Caen will all be closed from 6am with the remainder of the roads in use by the event closing between 9:00 and 9:45.

Traffic in and out of Portsmouth is limited to two main routes – the Western entrance (M275) and the Eastern Road (A2030).

Once in the city, you are asked to look for the large digital boards giving parking and traffic information.

The council operated park and ride will not be in operation this year.

If you wish to park as close as possible to event site, there is a temporary event car park on Southsea Common at a charge of £10 per vehicle.

Cars will be able to exit this car park from around 12.15pm, initially directed out to the west whilst roads to the east are still in use by runners.

Don't forget to check out the Daily Echo's website on Sunday for pictures as well as the newspaper on Monday.