Shelley Rich, the associate director of programs for Campus Recreation, is used to seeing several hundred runners in marathon races. But around this time of year, she begins to see runners dressed as clowns and characters from “Wizard of Oz.”

That can only mean one thing — the annual Pumpkin Run is right around the corner.

“It’s just fun to see what they dress up as,” Rich said. “For people that have already purchased their Halloween costume, they can come dressed up.”

Saturday, Rich is expecting up to 600 registered runners to compete in the 5K race across campus, starting at 9 a.m. When Rich first came to WSU 10 years ago, the race only saw about 100 participants.

“We switched to online registration, so we get about three quarters of our registration online,” she said. “So that helps.”

Besides help from online registration, participating in races has sort of become “the thing to do.”

“Before, it was just for the running community. But now I think people are doing it for fun and to get out and do some exercise,” Rich said.

As runners cross the finish line in front of the Heskett Center, door prizes like T-shirts and gift cards will be handed out. Granola bars, fruit from Dillons, snacks from Great Harvest Bread and water bottles from Sonic will also be handed out at the end of the race. Vendors will have booths present and massage therapists will be relieving the runners after the 5K race.

In addition, pumpkins will be available for painting for the first time in exchange for either a donation for the Food Drive or a pair of shoes for the ReUSE a Shoe campaign.

An awards ceremony will take place from 9:45 a.m. to 10 a.m., based on the chip timers on each runner’s race number. The awards will be categorized by age group. Other awards will handed out for best costume.

Online registration is open for the rest of the day at wichita.edu/pumpkinrun. Students can register for $12, staff and faculty for $20 and members of the community for $25. Friday, runners can sign up in person at the Heskett Center. Race-day registration will be available for $35.