| STEVE CRAM ON THE GREAT MANCHESTER RUN Outside football there are few truly global sports stars at the moment, but Usain Bolt is definitely one of them.
The fastest man in the world is in Manchester this weekend to compete in a unique 150m street race.
The concept of running the race is a brilliant idea.
Athletics, like a lot of sports, has to look at ways of re-inventing itself to attract new fans and bringing the stars of the track on to the streets to compete is inspired.
I don't think Bolt will be the same athlete he was in 2008 this year as it will naturally be a bit of a down year in which he can refocus after his spectacular displays at the Beijing Olympics.
Aside from running, he has got a busy weekend as he is scheduled to meet the players from his beloved Manchester United and be presented on the pitch at Old Trafford before their match against Arsenal.
Oympic 400m champion, Christine Ohuruogu, is competing in the women's event and it will be fascinating to see how she gets on running on a track with no bends, which obviously she is used to in her normal event.
Earlier in the day the legendary Haile Gebrselassie is running in the Great Manchester Run.
He has had an up-and-down year and has preferred to compete in marathons so this will be a good gauge of what 10k shape he is in.
Keep your eye out for Andrew Lemoncello, who has recently been posting some of the fastest 5k and 10k times seen by a Brit for a long time.
In the women's event, Vivian Cheruiyot is often overlooked against the likes of Berhane Adere which is unfair as her pedigree is very high indeed.
Let's hope some of the people who attend Sunday's event are inspired to come and watch athletics meetings in the future at venues like Gateshead or Crystal Palace.
Manchester has been one of the key cities in performance sport and has invested heavily in events and facilities. The coverage they will receive from this is a good reward for their hard work.
Steve Cram commentates on the Great Manchester Run on BBC Two on Sunday.
Steve was talking to Paul Birch. | 
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