Sunderland have not lost in their last nine Premier League derbies with the Magpies since 2011, though Newcastle claimed victory in an FA Cup tie in 2024.
The Newcastle manager was technically on firm footing as he rang the bell.
The Newcastle United head coach had just got the 2023 Great North Run started to loud cheers in the heart of the city.
But he had not accounted for those Black Cats runners who were not so thrilled to see him as they sped past.
"The biggest stick I've ever had," he remarked this week. "I got verbally attacked by 50% of the people there."
This is not an inter-city rivalry. These North East neighbours have won only one major domestic trophy between them in the past 50 years, and Sunday's game marks the first time they will meet in the top division for nearly a decade.
But hardly any fixtures bring a region to a standstill quite like the North East derby as former Black Cats manager Peter Reid knows better than most.
"These are football crackers," he said. "Let's just say, there is a touch of extra needle up there."
'The two biggest games of the season'
A former Newcastle defender also knows what can happen when these forces collide.
A huge picture in the ex- Newcastle centre-back's home serves as a daily reminder.
It captures the Greek ecstatic, shirtless and among his elated team-mates, after netting the winner in front of the away fans at the Stadium of Light in 2002.
This was a fixture that definitely made an impression on him.
"The key is the passion of the fans," he said. "This feeling that goes from generation to generation. This heritage makes this game so special."
So what is at the root of the intense rivalry between two one-club cities less than 15 miles apart?
Well, as far as a Sunderland loyal fan is concerned, it goes beyond football itself.
"You can trace it to the English Civil War with Newcastle siding with the monarchy and Sunderland backing the parliament," he said. "It's rooted in political and economic tensions.
"Newcastle receive the investment, Newcastle have the metropolitan status, Newcastle are the ones people always talk about when it comes to the North East. The other side are always shadowed."
But it is far from one-sided.
A former player's father was even "mobbed" by delirious Newcastle supporters after his son scored a decisive free-kick in a 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light in 2011.
That is how much it meant to the home fans.
"It took a while afterwards to grasp the significance of it," the player said.
"It eased my life a lot easier. I was allowed to make the odd mistake when playing, purely because of that goal.
"Even now when I visit up to St James' Park and you've got dads telling their kids, 'See this lad? He scored the winner against the Mackems'."
A derby win can even further elevate the reputation of an already popular figure.
A former Newcastle manager had not long delivered promotion back to the Premier League when he took charge of his first derby in 2010.
There may have only technically been three points at stake, but he quickly understood the "added responsibility" of this game because people in the North East "live for their football".
He said: "There are some derbies where you are not quite sure why they are derbies. This one, you do.
"These are two huge clubs - not far away from each other - with their own character.
"In effect, they are the two biggest games of the season so you are aware that the last thing you want to do is to lose, particularly in your own stadium."
A region reignited
That manager had nothing to fear.
His side ended up hammering Sunderland 5-1 at St James' Park in 2010, but Newcastle have only won a single derby in the Premier League since then.
In fact, Sunderland have been victorious in six of the last seven meetings in the top flight.
A former Sunderland manager masterminded half of those victories, having quickly realised that the fixture was "more significant" than many those from afar thought.
"After family, the club is the most important thing to the people of Sunderland," he said.
"It's so intense that the result of the club can change the mood of the city so imagine the result of the derby? You can feel it.
"They told me on the first day. 'Please stay up, but you must beat Newcastle'. I still don't know if it was more important to stay up or to beat Newcastle."
The club, like Newcastle before them, eventually slipped through the relegation trapdoor in 2017, and spent eight years away from the top flight.
So a division divided these rivals when they last met in the domestic cup nearly two years ago.
And the difference was stark.
The combined cost of Sunderland's starting line-up that day was a tiny portion of the £40m Newcastle had invested in a single player.
The most experienced individual in the hosts' starting line-up was a clear margin ahead of others, at just 30 years of age.
"It's unlikely the fans really expected, deep down, that we were going to win that game," a former midfielder said. "But now it's different."
In so many ways.
Only two players are likely to be the only survivors from that 3-0 defeat in Sunday's lineup following the inspired arrivals of several new signings.
Sunderland also have a different manager, of course.
Not only has he led Sunderland to promotion - his bold side have gone toe-to-toe with some the best teams in the top flight.
In fact, the reigning champions are the only team in the current top six to have beaten Sunderland this season, while his side are also unbeaten on their own ground.
Such an impressive start to the campaign means Sunderland go into Sunday's game a point clear of Newcastle in the table.
So it is all set up to be a gripping afternoon when these rivals renew hostilities at the Stadium of Light.
"On Sunday, the world will know the North East is back on the map with top games again," a former player added.
