Some 900 runners have signed up for the BF&M 10K run and walk on Saturday which includes a slight adjustment to the course because of the closure of the National Sports Centre’s 400 metres track for repairs.

The course will continue along Middle Road to Flatts and then back along North Shore, but will now have the race start at the North Field entrance and finish inside the venue after the runners turn onto Frog Lane.

“The new route will start at the North Field entrance, go up to Montpelier roundabout and onto Middle Road and then follow the course as it was before and then come back and finish on the north field,” explained Phil Martin, race director for the 10K, which will also be a part of The Royal Gazette Bermuda Triangle Challenge.

“That was part of the remeasure that we had to do, it’s not perfect, but is close enough. The intent is to see how this plays out and then make a decision whether we’ll go back [to the old course] or not. Likely we’ll go back because we’ll have a brand new track to finish on.”

The organisers have also taken the opportunity to include some added attractions at the finish venue.

“For the first time, we’ll have massages at the end of the race, a DJ and town crier Ed Christopher at the beginning of the race and the Gombeys at the end,” Martin added. “We’ll also have two groups, a group called Coral Beats who are ladies who play drums.

“They will be positioned at Flatts and the second group, Bermudaful DrumHers [sic], again a female group, who will play jinga drums. They will be positioned at the bottom of Frog Lane and then we’ll move them into the National Stadium to come out with the Gombeys.

“We’ve got 40 people from Chicago, a bunch from Florida coming, so it’s going to be pretty exciting this year.”

Guest speaker at the dinner on Saturday night will be Suzy Favor Hamilton, a three-times US Olympian who won seven USA national titles, set two American records as she ran the 1,500 metres race five times under four minutes. In 2000, Favor Hamilton was the fastest woman in the world and was named USA Track and Field’s Female Distance Runner of the Year.

“We will also have some elite athletes doing the Triple Challenge coming off the Front Street Mile,” Martin said.

“Rain or shine, we won’t stop. It’s supposed to be 30 knots on Friday night and tapering on Saturday morning so we should be good for then and Sunday with a little bit of wind and rain.”