HUNTINGTON -- A man showed up at Pat Riley's home the other day and handed him an entry form for the West Virginia 5K Championhsip. The man was 87 years old.

That delivery put a smile on Riley's face.

"He was born in 1925," Riley said.

Riley is director of the West Virginia 5K coming up Saturday in downtown Huntington. He anticipates having runners on all levels from elite distance run competitors to weekend joggers. Walkers are also welcome to participate, along with wheelchair athletes and people pushing baby strollers.

He didn't know whether the man at his door runs for fitness or to stay healthy. It doesn't matter.

Serious planning for the race began in fall 2008 after Huntington was described as the unhealthiest city in the nation in an article by The Associated Press.

"Hopefully, what we're doing is debunking that," Riley said.

Riley said he has received entries from diabetics and cancer survivors saying they need to get out and make a difference.

The goal was to have 1,000 athletes covering the 3.1-mile race course that starts and finishes between 8th Street and 9th Street on Veterans Memorial Boulevard. Riley doesn't anticipate reaching that mark, but had 260 entries as of Saturday afternoon and expects more. He said runners are notorious for waiting until the last minute.

Registration continues all week.

"You can even come (sign up) the morning of the race," Riley said. "We'll have plenty of volunteers on hand."

Elite runners will lead the race around the fast, flat course that is USATF-certified, including several familiar names on the Tri-State scene. Riley predicted the winning time to be around 14 minutes, 30 seconds.

Eric Putnam, the track and cross country coach at Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio, is considered the favorite to win. Putnam ran a recent 5K in 14:30. He also won the 2008 Bun Run in Huntington with a time of 15:21.

Jason Pyles of Huntington set the Bun Run 5K record with a time of 15:17 in 2006.

Pyles is a former Marshall University runner who has won several Tri-State races. Pyles is the three-time defending champion of the Ashland Summer Motion 10K. In March he won the Adam Johnson Memorial 3-Mile Run in Huntington with a time of 15:09.

His wife, Marian Pyles, is one of the top female entries.

Casey Batey was an All-American distance runner for Marshall in 2002. Batey, originally from Milton, was a Cabell Midland High School standout. He lives in Morgantown.

Marshall cross country runner Matt Schiffbauer is headed to the USA Track and Field Junior Nationals in June.

Matt Bowles, who works with runners at the University of Rio Grande, is an accomplished race-walker who also does distance runs. Bowles placed second in the 2008 Olympic Trials 50K race walk.

"He's not walking this, but he can probably walk it faster than 90 percent of the people there," Riley said.

Race spectators can gather in the start/finish area or line the course to cheer for runners as they pass by. A public address announcer will be doing race updates and calling the names of runners as they finish.

Cash awards go to the top three overall male and female finishers and to various age-group winners.

"All the winners can walk around for the next year saying they are a state champion," Riley said.

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