The countless kilometres walked might be a blur, but falling 21km short of a perfect 10 in the Tauranga Half Marathon is in fact a 'bit of a bummer” for Dianne Mannington.

Sunday marks one decade of the event gracing Tauranga City's streets, bringing with it a record number of participants keen on being part of history.

Dianne Mannington will line up at Fergusson Park for her ninth Tauranga Half Marathon this Sunday. Photo: Tracy Hardy.

Among those on the start line will be Dianne, a competitive walker, eyeing an unprecedented ninth event with only last year's decision to take on the 21km Xterra trail walk instead leaving her one short of the unbroken feat of 10-in-a-row.

'I did the Xterra last year which was a bit of a bummer, but never mind,” says Dianne. 'It would have been pretty special [to have done all 10].”

A staunch advocate for the Heart Foundation, Dianne has raised thousands of dollars for the foundation in the past during the event. And after 16 years of service was recently recognise for her long service to the foundation.

As always the core mission of the event is promoting heart health, with the Heart Foundation inviting entrants to support the charity and help fight heart disease by registering as Heart Racers.

Dianne says while there's a tinge of sadness not completing the perfect 10, she can't look past the event being family-friendly and a perfect warm-up for next month's Rotorua Marathon.

A competitive walker for more than a decade, Dianne, in her mid-60s, can't pinpoint the number of kilometres clocked up in a week of training, but it is 'a lot”.

'It takes me on average about two and a half hours [to complete a half marathon].

'For my age I feel I do pretty well,” she quips.

In the running stakes, the men's elite half marathon field looks stronger than ever with last year's top two place-getters, locals Kyle and Iain MacDonald, returning.

They will be pushed hard by a number of top performers including Jono Jackson from Auckland, a NZ representative mountain runner and multiple NZ championships medal winner over 10,000m.

Jackson has a best half marathon of 67 minutes – one minute-and-a-half better than the MacDonald twins.

The women's favourites appear to be last year's second place-getter Jess Ruthe who should be challenged by Aucklander Kelly Parlane, a consistent performer at national level distance running events.

As well as the Half Marathon distance, there are also 14km, 7km and one mile (1.7km) options for those seeking a slightly shorter challenge.

Looking back on the event's 10 years, race director Luke Garea puts its growing popularity down to the increased focus on attracting runners and walkers from outside the Bay of Plenty region.

'We've specifically focused on the Waikato and Auckland regions, and focus very hard on providing a quality event – good course and great experience.”

With a good weather forecast for Sunday, conditions look ideal for the 7am Half Marathon start.

The first finishers are expected to cross the line at Fergusson Park about 8.10am. Other events will run throughout the morning, with the final event – the Matua Mile – at 10.30am.

Entries for all distances remain open online until 5pm today, or participants can register at Bayfair Shopping Centre on Saturday from 10am-6pm.