More than 100 teams have already signed up for next month's Bahrain Marathon Relay, organisers said.

The 30th annual event will get under starters' orders on October 29 at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), Sakhir.

Bahrain Round Table (BRT), which has been organising the event for more than 20 years, is once again spearheading what has become one of the country's biggest charity drives.

BRT organising committee chairman Richard Monkhouse said he was looking forward to the continued success of the marathon, but was realistic about what could be raised during tough economic times.

"We are hoping to build on the success of previous years," said. “I think we would be looking to match or exceed last year, both in terms of the number of participants and the amount of money we raise.”

"We are realistic in our expectations, however, and we realise that we will not be able to reach the kind of numbers we had maybe three or four years ago. With constant reminders of the financial crisis, it is clear that companies have less money to be spending on sponsorship.”

"Aside from that, a lot of companies have been forced to downsize and that may impact on the number of people taking part,” he added.

As in previous years, the marathon will be run over 16 legs of approximately three kilometres per stage.

Last year's event attracted 157 teams from schools, clubs, hotels, societies and businesses as well as a number of elite international representatives. – TradeArabia News Service