Shelter Island - For a day, Shelter Island is taken over by this massive road race, one that began as a local event but has blossomed into an event that's not only charitable but hosts some of the world's most decorated runners. It's more than doubled in size since Justin Gubbins set the pace back in 1980, the year of the first Shelter Island 10K, but the scenic tour of the island both inland and along the coast has brought runners back time and again and from all over the world, including on Saturday for the race's 30th running.

"It kicked off as a local race, not necessarily by design but by reality," race board member Don Bindler said. "We attracted mostly people from the East End but it's grown over the years to be a fairly major event."

Ordinarily between 200 and 300 runners sign up on race day, that figure vacillates depending on the weather. However, registration has spiked since the 10K switched from a May date to its traditional June timeslot.

Because they're ahead of last year's pace prior to the race, officials expect this weekend's enrollment is likely to surpass last year's headcount, which stood at around 1,500. Local racers came out in full force for the race, hundreds gathering at the starting line and traversing the hilly terrain at varying speeds. Emerging from the pack to win the race was Ethiopia's Worku Beyi on the men's side and Aziza Aliyu for the women. Bindler said that ordinarily between 200 and 300 runners sign up on race day, that figure hat figure vacillates depending on the weather. However, registration has spiked since the 10K switched from a May date to its traditional June timeslot.

To determine why the race has grown to such popularity, racers need only look over their shoulders to see enjoy the remarkable route.

"Racers have told us it's one the most beautiful courses around that they run," Bindler said. "It's a very pretty course. If you get it on a nice day, it's a pleasant place to come and enjoy the weekend and run a beautiful course. It's also a serious race where you can test your mettle against the best."

Shelter Island has indeed played host to its share of celebrities, and this year's headliner is among the most recognizable names in the sport. Bill Rodgers has won the Boston Marathon and New York City Marathon four times each and has won 22 marathons in his career. In his prime, Rodgers, now 61, was often ranked No. 1 in the world at that distance. Rodgers, a 1999 inductee into the United States Track & Field Hall of Fame, will make personal appearances leading up to the race and visit the Shelter Island School on Friday. Several other world-class runners are signed up. Last year, Diane Nukuri finished second in the women's 10K just months prior to representing Burundi at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing.

East End Hospice, which offers home health care to those in need in eastern Suffolk County, and the Timothy Hill Children's Ranch, a non-profit safe haven for boys aged 10-21, will once again be among the race's many benefactors. That list also includes charities on Shelter Island and elsewhere on the East End. In its 30 years, the 10K has given out more than $500,000.

Weekend festivities include a pasta party beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Kids Fun Race will kick-off the schedule on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.. It will be followed by the 10K at 5:30 p.m. and the 5K Walk at 5:40 p.m.

More information on the 10K and its accompanying festivities can be found at www.shelterislandrun.com.