Keen runners and walkers have been given another option at this year's Dunedin marathon.
In addition to the full or half run or walk, a quarter-marathon has been added to the September 13 event.
The 11.6km run or walk will start from Forsyth Barr Stadium at 9.15am, 15 minutes before the half-marathon.
''They will run through the car park, duck under the motorway and on to the walk and cycleway, before heading out to Watson Park in Port Chalmers,'' race director Phil Coakes said.
Other major marathon events around the country have included quarter-marathon or 10km events for years, and Coakes said it was about giving competitors another option.
''Basically, our half-marathon run and recreational walk was one in which people need to build up to,'' he said.
''So we thought we would introduce the quarter-marathon, which will make it easier for people to progress to the half.
''I guess it's a social and easier event for the serious and the not-so-serious to take part in.''
The number of transponders available to track competitors has limited numbers to 500 runners and 300 walkers over the shorter distance.
Entries for this year's event opened at the start of the month. So far, 22 runners have entered the full marathon, 68 the half and nine the quarter.
Nine people had also entered the half-marathon walk and one the quarter walk.
June is usually a slow month for entries and most people wait until August before committing.
However, with 109 entries so far this month, entries look set to eclipse the June record of 137 in 2012.
''It will be interesting to see how our numbers go,'' Coakes said.
''Whether the quarter brings people out of the half because it's a distance people can manage with or not, we will have to wait and see.''
While numbers barely topped 1800 last year, each of the previous five years saw more than 2000 entries.
The most successful year was 2009, when a record 2369 competed.
Online entries close on September 8 and a late entry fee of $30 will apply after August 24.
