Cape Town - A record field of close to 21 000 runners, including the men and women's defending champions, and over 1 000 international runners, will line up in Newlands on Easter Saturday April,3 for the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon.

The Cape's biggest road running event has attracted a field of 8 700 runners in the 56km ultra marathon, making this the second biggest field in the history of the event.

The record stands at just under 10 000 (9 766) runners, which was in 2004 when Chapman's Peak reopened.

Some 35% of the ultra marathon field are novices who are running the event for the first time, an indication that the sport is growing and still attracting people to the longer distances.

The 21.1km has attracted a field of 11 571 runners, which makes it the biggest half marathon in the country.

Last year over 13 221 runners took part in the 21.1km event but race organisers decided to reduce this number for 2010 in the interests of runner safety, both out on the route and at the finish.

Said race director Rowyn James: "Entries for the half marathon closed four weeks before the entry deadline of March 3, which goes to show that interest in the half marathon is massive.

"We are investigating other route options for 2011 that will allow us to increase the field to take at least 16 000 entrants."

The race will have more than 1 000 international runners taking part and is up on last year's figure of 868. This figure includes all runners from outside South Africa.

New to this year's event is the 8km and 18km trail runs, which will take place on Good Friday, April 2. Close to 750 entries have been received for the trail run so runners wanting to secure their entries in this event are advised to do so as soon as they can.

The field is limited to 800 runners, 400 for the 8km and 400 for the 18km. According to trail run organiser Trevor Ball, it is the biggest single day trail run in the country.

The International Friendship Run for the overseas participants and their families and friends has also attracted a record field of just over 500 runners and entries are still taken at the Expo and on the day of the run.

This 5km run/walk starts at the Good Hope Centre at 09:30 on Good Friday 2 April and takes runners on a scenic tour of the city, finishing at the V&A Waterfront.

The Expo at the Good Hope Centre will also have a record number of exhibitors offering visitors all sorts of interesting stands with everything there is to know about road running and related elements under one roof.

It is the largest running-related expo in the Western Cape and takes place from the Wednesday, March 31 to Friday, April 2.

As the official registration point for the race, the expo attracts over 45 000 visitors over the three days. It also hosts the PUMA Store where visitors will find the latest products and special commemorative event gear.