The course alterations have all been finalized. The volunteers are all in place. Bill Rodgers is in town.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to race.

The 29th Ogden Newspapers 20K Run and Walk begins at 7:30 a.m. today, when the 20K walkers take their first steps on 14th street. They'll be followed by runners in the 20K run at 8 a.m. and the those participating in the new Ogden Team Cup 5K and the Ogden 5K Run and Walk at 8:15 a.m.

"There's always something that pops up, but our volunteers are seasoned veterans ... We're ready," said Howard V. Corcoran Jr., Ogden 20K race director.

More than 1,100 participants pre-registered for today's Ogden 5K and 20K. Corcoran believed that the nice weather experienced for the Friday events - the Ogden Tiny Tot Trot, the Ogden Fun Run and the Ogden Mile ‹ helped push the numbers for all eight races ahead of last year's figures, which totaled more than 1,300 participants.

"Our walk-up is very strong tonight," Corcoran said Friday. In the past, upwards of 150 runners and walkers have registered during the Friday night events, with more doing so Saturday morning.

Rodgers, known to road racing fans as "King of the Road," is among those who will take part in the 5K event this year. A four-time winner of both the Boston and New York marathons, Rodgers also has won the Ogden 20K three times.

Road racing enthusiasts will see a different part of the city this year, as ongoing construction in the area of Chicken Neck Hill through the Perkins Restaurant area of National Road have forced temporary changes in a course that is legendary for its hills. Runners and walkers will bypass that area in favor of, among other places, Wheeling's Heritage Trail over the last 4 miles of the event.

All of the changes have cut out one of the two major hills n the course, Wheeling Hill.

Still, Corcoran figures, it won't be easy.

"No matter how you look at it, 12.4 miles is a challenge," he said. "We took out a couple of the hills and we flattened the course out, but it's still going to be tough."

He said, at least in the interim, the alterations might be for the better.

"Change is sometimes good for the mind," Corcoran said. "We had some people that would not run because of the hills, so we flattened the course out for the last 4 miles and, hopefully, our attendance is going to pop up a little bit."

And, he reminded, the change is just a one-year occurrence.

"We're going to go back to the old course next year," he said. "The construction on U.S. 40 is the only reason we changed the course this year."

Rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast for today, though they might hold off until the afternoon, well after things have been decided.

The high for today is expected to be in the mid 60s.

"Thunder and lightning scare a lot of people," Corcoran said. "It's OK if we just have rain or cold weather. Bill Rodgers said they love it up in Boston when it's 46 degrees. The heat stresses the body."