In slightly more than three weeks, 3000-plus runners and walkers will descend on Rotorua for the Lion Foundation Marathon day.
On April 30 they will take part in the full marathon, the RECT Half Marathon, the Asics Quarter Marathon and the 5.5km events in and around Rotorua. Organisers Athletics NZ say entries have been pouring in and a surge of registrations at the end of last month have entries tracking to "well over 3000 people" in the country's premier marathon event.
Runners from 14 countries have entered the various events so far, with entries from far flung places such as China, Japan, Jordan, Isle of Man, Poland, South Africa, Switzerland and Malaysia. Australians make up the bulk of the international entries.
The race is proving popular with Aucklanders, who make up almost 40 per cent of the entries and use the event as a weekend away.
Rotorua locals make up just over 10 per cent of the total entries but this is expected to swell as locals decide to take part closer to race day.