SHEEHAN: 4,000 FEET POUNDING 26,400 FEET

Runners charge the finish line during the 2009 edition of the five-miler. (Click to enlarge)

Event: The Sheehan Classic five-mile race, one of the nation’s top 100 races, according to Runner’s World Magazine, which starts on Broad Street in Red Bank and goes through Little Silver and Fair Haven before ending back where it started.

Participants: Some 2,000 runners, as well as participants in a two-mile health walk, a five-mile wheelchair race and kids running distances of 50 yards to a half-mile.

Conditions: sunny, with temperatures heading toward 80 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

The Other Race: Seeing how fast the organizers can break it down to allow traffic to resume its flow through downtown Red Bank.

“Everything’s looking real good,” says race organizer Phil Hinck. “We have about the same number of runners and walkers as last year, the weather looks good, and I’m always looking to break the record” for disassembling race equipment.

Last year, the finale event, the five-miler, went off at 8:30a, and shortly after 10a, the streets were cleared for vehicular traffic by Red Bank police.

Pre-registrations are now closed out, but on-site registrations are being accepted today and tomorrow morning starting at 6:30a at Marine Park.

Here’s the full schedule of events, which begin today at Marine Park: