Mari Wilson will be performing a special set at the festival. Picture: Tony Gay.

Soul singer Mari Wilson will be one of the stars set to make the annual Hornsey YMCA Fun Run a glittering success.

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More than 3,000 runners are limbering up for Sunday’s 10k race, which starts in Priory Park, Hornsey, with hundreds more children taking part in the one-mile Fun Runs.

But if even the thought of those uphill climbs around Alexandra Park leave you out of breath, the party atmosphere of the accompanying festival in the park is still guaranteed to get your hearts racing.

Jim Shepley, programme director at the Hornsey YMCA, said: “We can’t wait for the day now as it’s the culmination of months of hard work, but always seems worth it in the end. I’d like to wish good luck to all the runners and hope that everyone has a fantastic time at the festival.”

Headline act, 80s pop icon Ms Wilson, will take to the stage at 1.30pm, sharing a platform with the Angels of Kaos, rock’n’rollers The Daddios, ska band Rudeboy and Rascal, and the Palpitations for a festival extravaganza.

Children will also be kept entertained by a host of activities including archery, climbing, a funfair and bouncy castle.

Food from around the world will also draw in the crowds with plenty of stalls offering a hog roast, fish and chips, Caribbean and Greek food - as well as cakes from The Haberdashery coffee house and Dunn’s Bakery, both based in Crouch End.

Now in its 21st year, the 10k race will start at 10am and take runners on a scenic route around Alexandra Park. But the celebrity chosen to fire the starting gun is still being kept a closely guarded secret by the event’s organisers.

This year, the charities benefitting from the fun run will be the Hornsey YMCA, disabled children’s charity I Can Dance and the 14 Month Project, an organisation raising money for people with motor neurone disease.

Dave Jennings, one of the organisers for the 14 Month Project who is running with his family on the day, said: “We are benefitting in two ways. One is the support and awareness for the project this gives us and the other is that my son actually attends I Can Dance.”

The race is being sponsored by Thornton’s Budgens in Crouch End and the festival by north London based estate agent Greene & Co

Andrew Thornton, of Thornton’s Budgens, who is also taking part in the race, said: “My training’s going well and the atmosphere is always fantastic. It’s great to be such an established part of this fabulous day.”