Photo by Sam Yu This was the scene just before the start of the fourth Frederick Marathon in 2006.

They were greeted by temperatures in the low 30s and several inches of sleet mixed with snow. The weather was so bad that about 100 people decided not to take part.

This weekend 3,201 runners will take part in the four races that make up the Frederick Marathon. All four races will begin at Harry Grove Stadium. The marathon starts at 7:30 a.m. Sunday.

The temperature is supposed to be in the 40s at race start, rising to the 60s. There is no snow anywhere in the area.

The Frederick Marathon has grown tremendously since it began.

It has also changed a lot. The biggest change came when the organizers decided to move the event from its initial March 30 date in 2003 to early May in 2004 when the temperatures will be warmer and the only precipitation that falls is rain.

"I'm impressed with the growth of the marathon," said Rachel Ridgway, race director the past three years. "From last year it's grown 10 to 15 percent. I knew this was a great race and a great course. All it took was for the runners to have a good time."

The initial event had 1,320 runners, far more than the goal of 1,000 participants. The marathon drew more than expected mostly because the second D.C. Marathon scheduled in Washington the week before was called off for security reasons. That was when the U.S. first invaded Iraq. Several hundred of those runners came to Frederick turning what organizers thought would be a moderately-sized race into a big one.

For the first year there was only a marathon and a four-person team relay. In 2004 a 5K race was added, and in 2006 a half-marathon two-person team relay was added. Last year organizers decided to have a true half-marathon, and it drew a capacity field of 1,000 runners.

"The half-marathon distance is the most popular in racing right now," Ridgway said. "More people are drawn to it."

This year's event will include marathon, half-marathon, 5K race and the team relay.

That first event drew 580 runners for the marathon and 185 relay teams with 448 runners finishing the marathon distance. Maurits van der Veen won the men's marathon title (2:37:11) and Becki McClintock the women's (2:37.11)

The numbers actually dipped the second year with 1,034 entries (476 in the marathon with 457 finishers). The race took place on an unseasonably warm May day. But in 2005 the total number of runners jumped to 1,640 (616 in the marathon with 535 finishers) and with the help of the half-marathon to 2,637 last year (796 in the marathon with 669 finishers).

This year 1,389 runners have signed up for the half-marathon, 831 for the marathon, 421 for the 5K and 500 for the team relay.

The runners will be coming from 34 states (including seven from California) and four foreign countries (England, Canada, Germany and Hajime Nishi, an Ecomarathoner from Japan)

The race organizers decided to allow up to 2,000 people in the half-marathon this year because of its popularity.

The oldest male runner is 79-year-old Daniel Vecin of Miami and the oldest female runner is 67-year-old Nora Scanlan of Columbia. Both are doing the half-marathon.

An equal number of men and women are entered in the four races.

Ridgway said the course will remain basically the same with the race starting and ending at Harry Grove Stadium. One difference is that runners will be allowed to go through Mount Olivet Cemetery, something they were not allowed to do last year.

This year's race is also being sponsored by CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for the first time. The event is being run by Corrigan Sports Enterprise, a professional sports organizing firm, also for the first time.

The marathon is a two-day event with the 5K race on Saturday at 7 p.m. The other three races will start at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. Saturday night after the 5K, there will be fireworks and other festivities celebrating the marathon at Harry Grove Stadium.

The record for the marathon is 2:26:42 set by Michael Wardian last year when he won his second straight marathon. The women's record is 2:56:57 set by Susan Graham-Gray in 2005.

Wardian will be returning this year. Neither Graham-Gray or defending women's champion Kristin Van Eron is expected for the event.

Six people are scheduled to run both the 5K and the marathon and 15 people both the 5K and the half-marathon.