FALMOUTH, Mass. - More than 875 runners and 130 relay teams are signed up already for the 27th annual Sovereign Bank Cape Cod Marathon to take place on Sunday, Oct. 31.

Race organizers from the Falmouth Track Club are preparing for what they hope will be the best race yet in the history of the event.

Begun in 1978, the Cape Cod Marathon is one of New England's longest-running marathons. It was run for six years at Otis Air Base, and for the last 20 years it has been run on a scenic one-loop course in Falmouth.

This year's race kicks off at 8:30 a.m. from Main Street in Falmouth. Run simultaneously to the marathon on the same course will be the Dunkin' Donuts Marathon Relay. Entries for the marathon continue to come in, and the field for that race could reach 1,100 by race day. The relay race is open to further entries until the 170-team limit has been reached.

The marathon participants will be competing for $8,400 in cash prizes with the first man and woman each receiving $1,500. There is also a $500 bonus if the course record is broken.

For the 17th time in 18 years, the Cape Cod Marathon is serving as the USATF-New England marathon championship and is the seventh and final race in that association's Grand Prix Series. Sovereign Bank is the principal sponsor of the marathon. The marathon relay's principal sponsor is Dunkin' Donuts. The marathon and the relay are run entirely within Falmouth with the start and finish by the Village Green.

Last year's winners were Eric Beauchesne of Chelmsford, Mass., who won for the third consecutive year (2:29:24), and Nina Caron of Andover, Mass. (2:57:26). In addition to Beauchesne, two other former champions are entered in the 2004 race, Mary Lynn Currier of Unionville, CT (1996, 1997) and Susannah Landreth of Newburyport, MA (1998).

Randy Thomas set the men's course record of 2:17:35 in 1986. Two-time Olympic marathoner Cathy O'Brien set the women's record of 2:37:06 in 1987.