It's the fourth year of the Bournemouth Marathon Festival - here's a handy guide to what's happening when and where over the weekend.

How many races are there?

There are six races in total - the marathon, half marathon, Supersonic 10k, Supernova 5k, 2k junior race and 1.5k junior race.

When will they take place?

SATURDAY RACES:

The junior 1.5k race for 6-8-year-olds will begin at 1.30pm. The 2k race for 9-12-year-olds starts at 2.30pm. Both races start on Bournemouth Prom and finishes near the Bournemouth Marathon Festival Hub in the Lower Gardens.

The 10k Supersonic race will begin at 4pm starting and finishing near the BMF Hub in the Lower Gardens. The race is designed for runners aged 15+. For the full route click here

The Supernova 5k will begin at 7pm starting on Bournemouth Prom and finishing in the Lower Gardens with the runners pounding the route wearing anything that glows and flashes, plus fluorescent clothing to create a “human light show”. The race is designed for all ages. For the full route click here

SUNDAY RACES:

The half marathon will begin at 8am at Kings Park Drive in Boscombe and end at the Lower Gardens in Bournemouth. With the route taking in both Boscombe and Bournemouth piers. For the full route click here

The full marathon, which follows a similar but extended route, will begin from Kings Park Drive at 10am. For the full route click here

What do runners get?

Runners who finish the events above will get a T-shirt, medal, chip timing, keyring and race recovery pack. The Supernova 5k runners will get a headtorch to help light up the night.

How many people are taking part?

Organisers say 13,000 people will be taking part, which is 2,000 more than last year.

Anything else interesting I need to know?

Ben Smith will be the official race starter. He's close to the end of an incredible challenge of running the equivalent of 401 marathons in as many days. The Bournemouth Marathon will be his 398th marathon.

Who else should I look out for?

Keep an eye out for Ukranian Igor Olefirenko and Kenyan Peninah Wanjiru Ndungu.

Olefirenko will be taking part in the Bournemouth Marathon for the first ever time after setting a lightning quick 2:13:33 time in Japan earlier on this year.

With the current course record of 2:16:00 set by Boaz Kiprono in 2015, the Bournemouth Marathon could be in for a record breaking year.

In the elite female race, Kenyan Ndungu starts as favourite after running 2:34:25 in Brighton last year.

However she’ll face stiff competition from fellow Kenyan Eddah Jepkosgei who won the Edinburgh Marathon with a time of 2:39:53 back in May.

Sophie Carter is back again to defend her British title which she won last year.

Can I still enter?

Unfortunately you can't enter any of the races now as the deadline has passed.

Where is the best place to watch?

The seafront is one of the best places to watch the races but parking is bound to be an issue so perhaps park a little further out than the central car parks and walk a little way to soak up the excitement.

Hydration stations

Hydration stations for the 10k, half marathon and full marathon will be positioned around 5kms apart where where Strathmore Spring Water will be available with energy gels supplied as well. Runners in all races will be given water when they finish.

There will also be toilets at all the stations.

Bournemouth Marathon Festival hub

The Bournemouth Marathon Festival hub and helpdesk will be located at Bournemouth Lower Gardens. Entrants can pick up race packs or find other information about the festival at the help desk there.

It will be open from 8am-8pm on Saturday and 7am-5pm on Sunday.

Within the hub will also be a charity village where runners can visit their charity should it be affiliated to the event.

Road closures

As with previous years, more than 100 roads will be closed in the area over the weekend with temporary parking restrictions also applied in various places.

Organisers have again divided the road closures into four zones - the Southbourne area, Boscombe and East Cliff, the West Cliff and Poole.

Buses will be operating their usual routes as much as possible but stops may be altered slightly in Southbourne for Yellow Buses and More Buses.

View all the road closures here

Parking

The usual town centre car parks will undoubtedly fill up quite quickly on both days, especially as all the events finish in the Lower Gardens, near the Pier. The nearest ones to the town centre are Winter Gardens, Central, West Hill and Glen Fern.

Event bus

Shuttle buses will be operating to transport half marathon and full marathon runners along with spectators. They will run between Gervis Place and Kings Park and stop at Cotlands Road and the Sovereign Centre car parks en route. Tickets costing £8.50 are available here

The half marathon buses will run continuously from 6am-12.30pm and the full from 8am-5pm.

Weather

Weather forecasts for Bournemouth are currently mixed.

Accuweather says Saturday will see intervals of clouds and sunshine with a couple of thunderstorms and on Sunday there will be partial sunshine with a 0% chance of rain.

The BBC says there will be sunshine and showers on Saturday with heavy rain around lunchtime. It says Sunday will be sunny with highs of 16C.

The Met Office says there will be heavy rain between 10am and 1pm with light rain forecast for 4pm on Saturday. Sunday will be dry with bright spells in the morning and a high of 16C.

Met Check predicts shows on Saturday morning with sunshine in the afternoon. Sunday will be sunny with highs of 17C.

The Bournemouth Echo's forecast says Saturday will see showers while Sunday will be dry and warm.

AND FINALLY

Don't forget to give all the runners a really big cheer as they go past you - weeks, months and even years of training has gone into this.

We'll have photo galleries of all the races and action online as soon as possible after the events.

There will also be video from each day. Follow us on twitter @bournemouthecho or log onto our Bournemouth Daily Echo Facebook page