About 5,200 runners have registered for this year's race. Runners, their friends and family members will gather in Frederick for race festivities beginning today.

The event has grown since it started in 2003, said Rachel Ridgway, race director. About 500 people ran in the first race and more than 3,000 people participated in 2007.

"Its reputation is great and it its continuing to grow," Ridgway said.

Event planners and local police remind drivers to be careful if they plan to travel near the course from 6:30 a.m. until about 1 p.m. Sunday.

Festivities will kick off at 11 a.m. today with a sports expo at the Frederick Fairgrounds at 797 E. Patrick St., where runners can pick up information for Sunday's race.

The Twilight 5K Race will begin at 7 p.m. today, followed by an awards ceremony at 8 p.m.

Sunday, a "sunrise service" will be held at 6 a.m. along with opening remarks and singing of the national anthem. The marathon, half-marathon and team relay races will start at 6:30 a.m.

From 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Sunday, there will be inflatable play areas for children and live music. An awards ceremony will be held at noon.

"We plan on having a fun time at the finish line," Ridgway said.

All activities will be held at the fairgrounds for the first time this year.

Because of the new venue ----last year's festivities were held at Harry Grove Stadium -- some aspects are expected to run more smoothly than in previous years.

Several shuttle buses were late getting runners to the starting line on time last year because they were coming from several different parking locations throughout Frederick , Ridgway said.

"That was an issue last year and really the only major issue we had," she said.

Runners who were late last year could still run the course and have a valid time because they each had a chip attached to their shoe, which recorded the time they crossed the finish line.

"That issue has been addressed. We should have plenty of parking this year," Ridgway said.

More than 4,000 parking spots are available at the fairgrounds.

This year, the Frederick Marathon has already made donations to charities, including $2,500 to both the Frederick Rescue Mission and the Special Olympics. Organizers will likely make more charitable donations after the race, Ridgway said.

Top male and female marathon finishers will each receive $500, she said. The "Top Masters" award, $150, will be given to the top older-than 40 male and female finishers.

Cash awards are also given to the top half-marathon finishers.

Until last year, volunteers planned the event. This year, Corrigan Sports Enterprises, which organizes the Baltimore Marathon, took over management of the Frederick Marathon, Ridgway said.

This year's marathon festivities will share some similarities to the Baltimore Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 11. Sunday afternoon, activities will be held at Celebration Village, the same name given to an area near the Baltimore Marathon finish line.

Sunday's race offers a scenic route through Frederick , Ridgway said. Runners will pass a number of landmarks, including the National Museum of Civil War Medicine on East Patrick Street, the Schifferstadt Architectural Museum on Rosemont Avenue and Carroll Creek Linear Park between East and Market streets.

City officials and event planners debated the revamped course over the past several months. One change is that the start time was pushed back to clear downtown runners before church services started and the course was diverted from the front of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church on West Second Street.

Frederick Police Chief Kim Dine said the department made suggestions for the course to run smoothly, as it passes through a number of intersections throughout Downtown Frederick .

"While we've gone over it and over it, it's going to be new for all of us," he said. "We're actually hopeful it's going to be a better route than before."

Officials will later analyze the event to decide whether improvements or changes need to be made.

Dine urged those who travel through Frederick early Sunday to avoid the race course, if possible, and to allow enough time to get where they are going.

"Traffic is going to be tied up," Dine said.

A large portion of the department's officers will be directing traffic to help the race run smoothly, he said. Frederick police will work with volunteer officers, State Highway Administration workers, Maryland State Police troopers, Frederick County Sheriff's Office deputies, Frederick County Department of Public Works crews and Frederick County Fire and Rescue and Emergency Management officials.

As runners make their way through the course, blockades and "no parking" signs will be removed, said Frederick Police Department Sgt. Wade Brown.

Brown reminds residents to obey those signs and blockades. He said people can call him with questions about roads closing during the race.

"We're expecting a good event and we're hoping to make it a safe one," he said.