ONCE again, the Portland Runners Club 3 Bays Running Festival is gearing up to be a huge weekend with the ultra-marathon kick starting events today followed by the marathon events tomorrow.

It is the biggest calendar event of the year for the club with entries up from last year making for a huge weekend of racing.

The program gets underway tomorrow with the mammoth 60km ultra-marathon trail run which begins at the Bridgewater Lakes and follows the Great South West Walk into town.

All races across the weekend will end amid the Upwelling Festival with the finish line positioned near the skate park.

Committee member Dawn Reynolds told the Observer on Tuesday that entries were strong throughout for what is expected to be some quality racing.

“So far entries have been really, really good. They’re on par with last year and we always get more entries leading into it,” she said.

“The marathon on Sunday has already doubled in numbers, we’ve got near 50 compared to about 20 last year so that’s just fantastic.

“As always our half and quarter marathons draw in big numbers and we have a lot of locals in those which is great to see, they’re a nice achievable option for people.”

After some tough years with numbers and drawing people to the event, Reynolds said there is a keenness from the committee to level up this year.

“I definitely think people are feeling better about getting entries in early and they’re more confident signing up to these things,” she said.

“We have a fair few people from out of town signed up for the ultra and the marathon so it’s nice to see people coming back or getting wind of it.

“It’s a busy week in the lead up but everyone is really motivated this year to make it our best one yet.”

The ultra marathon began at 6.30am today with the first runners expected at the finish line around 11.30am.

Tomorrow, there is walking and running options for the marathon, half marathon and quarter marathon with all events finishing at the Upwelling Festival.